Premier Inn owner Whitbread warns it could axe 6,000 staff
Just FIVE PERCENT of Covid infections are passed on in pubs and restaurants: 10pm curfew sparks jobs avalanche as Premier Inn owner Whitbread warns of 6,000 layoffs while Wetherspoons says it could shed 450 staff
- Hospitality bosses are fuming that they are bearing the brunt of Boris Johnson’s coronavirus crackdown
- PHE data reveals of the 729 outbreaks in the week to September 13, only five per cent occurred in food outlets
- Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, urged the Government to heed its own statistics
- Wetherspoons founder Tim Martin said the 10pm curfew ‘doesn’t even stand up to five minutes’ scrutiny
- The pub chain announced 450 job cuts today, while Premier Inn owner Whitbread warned of 6,000 cuts
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson will spell out the tightening of restrictions in the House of Commons today
Ministers have been warned that a 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants will be the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for many businesses still treading water after the first wave of Covid-19.
Exasperated hospitality bosses are fuming that they are bearing the brunt of Boris Johnson’s coronavirus crackdown when Government figures show a comparably low spread of the disease in food and drink outlets.
Public Health England data reveals that of the 729 outbreaks in the week to September 13, only five per cent occurred in food outlets such as restaurants and pubs – 45 per cent were in care homes, 21 per cent in schools and 18 per cent in places of work.
Wetherspoons founder Tim Martin said: ‘The curfew doesn’t even stand up to five minutes consideration by an intelligent person because if you look at the stats… there are relatively few transfers of infections in pubs.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, urged the Government to heed its own statistics because the curfew could take a sledgehammer to the industry which is already ‘on its knees’.
She said this morning: ‘People will think it’s not that significant, but it really will have a big economic impact on jobs, not just on pubs, but also for cafes and restaurants.’
She added that landlords and restaurateurs were crying out for clarity over whether the curfew is when trading must cease, or if that is when the venue must close – which would slash revenues by 50 per cent and cause a jobs bloodbath.
Mass layoffs have already blighted the hospitality industry and today Wetherspoons announced plans to cut up to 450 of its 1,000 jobs at six airports across the UK, while Premier Inn owner Whitbread warned of 6,000 cuts.
The Prime Minister will spell out the tightening of restrictions in the House of Commons today before making a televised address to the nation tonight.
The measures are being brought in to wrestle down the spread of the virus after the government’s top two scientists, professors Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance, warned of 50,000 daily cases by mid-October.
Ministers have been warned that a 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants will be the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for many businesses still treading water after the initial shutdown (pictured in Soho last night)
Exasperated hospitality sector bosses are crying out for clarity over whether the 10pm curfew is the point they must clear the premises, which is feared would slash revenues by 50 per cent and cause a jobs bloodbath (Pictured: Soho in London last night)
As the nation braced for another round of curbs on public life:
- Michael Gove, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, confirmed the Government is ditching its back to work drive with people now being encouraged to work from home;
- A group of scientists and doctors wrote to the Prime Minister urging him not to opt for a second lockdown and to stop presenting Covid-19 as a mortal danger;
- Soho’s vibrant restaurant scene was bustling last night as Britons headed out before restrictions came into force;
- Some 140 pubs signed an open letter to the PM which said: ‘Many pubs are already on the edge and could not survive any further restrictions to trade’;
- The FTSE 100 clawed back ground this morning after the worst sell off since June
- Plans to allow thousands of sports fans back into stadiums with venues up to a third full by October 1 were paused.
Martin Wolstencroft, head of Arch Inspirations, which runs 17 bars and restaurants in Leeds, Manchester, York and Newcastle, said the curfew will not make it viable to open some of his venues.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The 10pm curfew will be absolutely devastating for our business. It’s just such disastrous news. We’ve worked so hard after lockdown to build up our business after 12 weeks, to build up the confidence of our teams and our customers.
‘We’ve done really well in Eat Out to Help Out to get ourselves moving again. So to hear this news this week, it’s so frustrating. We may as well not open some of our bars.
‘After 10pm is really when we start making money because that’s when we get busier and it won’t cover our costs during the day.
‘It’s just really frustrating, we don’t know how long it’s going to be for or what happens next. It’s going to be the final nail in the coffin for many many operators. It’s just disastrous news.’
Ms Nicholls said ministers urgently need to clarify whether the 10pm curfew is when trading must cease or whether it is when pubs must shut – which would restrict most outlets to just one sitting.
Ms Nicholls told the BBC: ‘It depends how the government frames this. If they draft it as cease trading at 10pm, the impact will be lessened, but if as in the North East and North West, where you have to clear the premises and empty the premises and have it closed up by 10pm, that will have a significant economic impact.
‘In effect it reduces revenue by 50 per cent because you need to call last orders for food by 9pm, so you can get everyone out of the door, so you can only have one sitting.
‘And with pubs now fully seated and table service, the same applies to pubs. Although it’s a small change, it will wipe out the shift of jobs at the end of the evening.’
Wetherpoons’ Mr Martin suggested the measures will not help tackle the virus. He told Talk Radio: ‘What does a curfew do? It says everyone has to go at 10pm, so that doesn’t mean you can’t get a virus. Many of us have been 18, 19, 20 in the past. So what are you going to do at 10pm? Go home to Mum?’
The pub trade (Soho pictured) has reacted furiously that they will bear the brunt of the Government’s crackdown and point to Public Health England figures that illustrate a low spread of Covid-19 in hospitality settings
Soho was bustling last night as drinkers went to pubs and restaurants before the Government ushers in a 10pm curfew
Mr Johnson is under mounting pressure from his backbenches to avoid imposing measures that will throttle the economic recovery.
Senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said the 10pm curfew will be a ‘terrible blow’ to landlords.
He told the BBC: ‘The people running pubs, owning pubs, these people are in terrible strain.
‘And the life line of the bounce back loans and the grants has kept these people, just about, their heads above water, and this will be a terrible blow to them.’
The pandemic has already taken a toll on the hospitality sector, which has suffered a rout on jobs as footfall nosedived and venues were forced to shutter.
Wetherspoons said it had written to its 1,000 airport staff to warn them that between 400 and 450 of their jobs are at risk of redundancy.
John Hutson, the company’s chief executive, said: ‘The decision is mainly a result of a downturn in trade in these pubs, linked with the large reduction in passenger numbers using the airports.
‘We should emphasise that no firm decisions have been made at this stage,’ he added, saying that Wetherspoon will listen to its staff to reduce the number of compulsory redundancies.
The job cuts will take place at Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.
Less than two months ago the company announced that it was planning to make between 110 to 130 head office workers redundant.
‘Wetherspoon is proposing to collectively consult with employees through an employment representative committee, which will be established for this purpose,’ Mr Hutson added.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread this morning warned it could axe up to 6,000 jobs as the coronavirus crisis continues to hit demand for hotel stays.
The hospitality company also owns Brewers Fayre, Beefeater and Table Table restaurants, while operating around 800 Premier Inns across the country.
Some 140 pubs have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister warning of ‘thousands of job cuts’ if there is a second lockdown.
The Campaign for Pubs, which represents publicans, wrote: ‘Already many publicans are facing serious anxiety about the situation and current levels of trade. Be in no doubt, many pubs are already on the edge and could not survive any further restrictions to trade.’
Thousands of jobs have been lost across Britain as the financial impact of Covid-19 continues to hit the economy.
Data released this month shows more than 300,000 jobs were put at risk of redundancy in June and July – nearly seven times higher than last year’s levels.
Restaurant and hotel chains have been hit hard during the pandemic, after many were forced to close during the first months of the coronavirus lockdown.
Costa Coffee, which was sold by Whitbread last year, has said 1,650 staff are at risk of redundancy as it looks to cut costs.
Coffee and sandwich chain Pret a Manger confirmed it has axed 2,800 roles from its shops, while Pizza Express plans to permanently shut 73 of its restaurants, putting 1,100 jobs at risk.
On September 9, Lloyds Bank announced it was cutting 865 jobs, just days after the Cooperative Bank revealed it was to axe around 350 jobs from up and down the country and close 18 branches.
Last month Natwest Group announced it too was cutting 550 jobs in branches across the UK and closing one of its remaining offices in London.
