Staff shortages could force business closures in the New Year
Businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors continue to be hit hard by staff absences as Omicron surges according to industry chiefs.
The chief executive of food importer and retailer All Greens, David Josephs, warned the company could be forced to temporarily close outlets and redeploy staff in comments to the BBC. The boss of pub group Fullers, which was forced to close 20 London sites before Christmas, said that while the situation is improving hundreds of employees are still off work.
The comments come as the government hinted that new restrictions to curb Omicron will not be introduced this week, with Minister Nadhim Zahawi today announcing that “there’s nothing in the data” to suggest lockdown measures are needed.
“We have had to re-deploy staff from stores into other stores to keep them moving,” David Josephs told the BBC.
Josephs suggested that poor sick pay was accelerating the spread of the virus. “A lot of staff in the sector do not get paid sick pay – ours do – and therefore when they receive positive tests they ignore them.
“Throughout the jobs market – not just in our sector – a large minority or staff on limited contracts or minimum wage cannot afford to be off work and just ignore [positive tests]”.
Commenting on staff shortages Simon Emeny, chief executive of Fullers, told the BBC that absences on the decline. Before Christmas around 450 of Emeny’s 4,000 staff were sick or isolating. “That’s now down to about 250. So things are improving,” he said.
However, Emeny said sales at the group are “significantly down” on expectations and blamed work from home guidance.
“I would urge the prime minister to review that this week, as it does appear that London is coming through this Omicron crisis,” he said.
Read more: Fuller’s closes London pubs blaming ‘pitiful’ government support