Three-quarters of hospitality businesses in Keswick and Eden face a potential recruitment crisis, according to an exclusive Reminder poll.
Tourism is worth £3 billion to Cumbria’s economy but a staffing crisis is so acute that some venues are already operating reduced opening hours and there are fears it could get worse.
The region’s pubs, restaurants and hotels were only able to fully reopen last week after the lockdown restrictions were eased but by then many staff had moved on and Brexit has made it harder to recruit foreign workers.
To find out the size of the problem the Reminder contacted 75 hospitality venues in Keswick and Eden at random and found they had a total of 223 vacancies – an average of three vacancies for every business.
Three quarters of all those contacted are currently recruiting, with 71% of those needing front of house staff and 65% looking for chefs.
According to our survey, the recruitment crisis is being felt across the whole region but is more severe in larger businesses in Keswick and the Ullswater area – renowned tourist hotspots.
A number of businesses have even had to close temporarily due to staffing shortages. These include Kat’s Kitchen on Main Street and LB’s Pizza House in the Kings Arms Courtyard.
he latter of which needs four qualified chefs before it can open its doors.
‘People just don’t turn up’
The venue currently in need of the most members of staff is the Derwentwater Hotel, Portinscale. They are looking to recruit 19 members of staff – eight housekeepers, two receptionists, seven food and beverage and two kitchen staff.
Gemma Aitken, who is a receptionist at the hotel, said they had been getting people simply not turning up for appointments. That might be because they have got too many choices.
She added that it’s not just experienced staff that they are looking for, they are also able to train people up on the job.
Research from the Reminder shows that chefs are one of the most in demand professions.
Steve Stables, owner of Bar eS in Keswick and Ambleside, and Salsa Mexican Bistro in Penrith, said: “The wage inflation for chefs has increased markedly. They can basically pick their amounts at the moment.”
He is looking for seven staff across all three sites and has been forced to send employees to different venues to try and tackle the problem.
However some venues have bucked the trend with Granny Dowbekin’s in Pooley Bridge, hiring 13 new starters.
Cumbria Tourism put the problem down to staff moving on during the pandemic, post-Brexit immigration policy removing many overseas staff’s rights to work, current travel restrictions stopping workers returning, and many businesses hiring at the same time.
Gill Haigh, managing director of Cumbria Tourism, said: “I’m already hearing of businesses having to close midweek due to a lack of staff and we do need Government to listen.
“It’s really frustrating that at a time when businesses have done everything they can to reopen safely and start the long road to recovery, they are finding themselves up against another hurdle.”
Many businesses have been forced to turn to more expensive agency staff to meet the shortfall.
Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is making a plea to the Government to prevent a “staffing disaster” by enabling more short-term workers from EU countries to be granted flexibility over the summer months.
Managing director Suzanne Caldwell said: “What we’re seeing is nothing short of a perfect storm which could really put the brakes on the anticipated post lockdown recovery boom that’s desperately needed by Cumbria’s hospitality sector.
“The Government needs to re-engage with the EU, show potential workers abroad that they’re wanted here and look at how countries like Australia are considerably more flexible to people on six-month and year-long work visas.”
Our survey says
- 223 vacancies across 75 establishments.
- Average of three vacancies per establishment.
- 75% of establishments are hiring now.
- 71% of places hiring need front of house and 65% need chefs.
- A quarter of places not hiring have just taken on new staff.
- Biggest recruiters: Derwentwater Hotel, Portinscale (19); North Lakes Hotel, Penrith (15); Another Place, the Lake, Ullswater (12)
