Clubs face guard shortage as UK employment pressures hit nightlife | hospitality industry

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Nightclubs are suffering from a growing shortage of bouncers, in the latest staff pressure to hit the UK’s economic recovery, with some estimates suggesting venues must pay security staff up to 25% more.

The lack of security personnel comes at a time when hospitality companies are exposed to a host of rising costs and are trying to recover from months of shutdowns during the pandemic.

About one in five businesses operating in the hospitality and hospitality industry had to close last month or operate reduced hours as a result of a security staff shortage, according to the Night Time Industries Association’s trade body.

However, NTIA warned that the situation had “deteriorated further” later, at a time when consumer demand for nights out and dancing was escalating after government restrictions were eased.

Sasha Lord, nighttime economic advisor for Greater Manchester, said “security staff was the biggest problem” at this year’s Park Life Festival, which he co-founded.

Lord said it was difficult to recruit the 1,000 security personnel needed to cover the 80,000-person event, which took place over two days in September in Heaton Park, Manchester.

“We’ve always taken it for granted that you can email three or four security providers and get 900-1,000 security staff,” Lord said. But this year we had to beg, borrow and steal from all over the country.

“We had to take them from the north of Scotland, Devon and all over the world. They are usually very local and they come from Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.”

Lord added that 124 security staff working at Project Warehouse nightclub events, which take place on Friday and Saturday nights through January, are being paid about 25% more than previously, assuming higher wage bills charged by security providers are transferred to workers.

Hospitality companies have sounded the alarm about staff shortages over the past few months since lockdown restrictions were eased, and security vacancies have been the latest problem, after an insufficient number of bar staff, chefs and other kitchen workers.

Other parts of the economy have also been hit by staff shortages, particularly the food production and processing industry and those that run supply chains, including warehouse workers and heavy truck drivers.

Many security workers quit their jobs during the pandemic as nightclubs and workplaces closed late at night, with many finding jobs elsewhere with more favorable hours.

Much like the hospitality industry more broadly, the sector has also been hit by EU employees who have left the UK in the past 18 months as a result of Brexit or pandemic restrictions.

NTIA said security personnel in the premises are essential to protecting the public, and called on the government to take action. “If the shortage continues to fester, there is a very real chance that it will become a threat to public safety,” said the company’s CEO, Michael Keel.

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“As in other sectors that are currently experiencing shortages, this is a long-term problem and the decline in security resources can be tracked for at least three years.

“There are steps the government can take to mitigate the problem, whether it is to fund training initiatives, simplify new training requirements, or address shortages through legislation – and I would also like to see them reconsider the issue of temporary visas to defuse the crisis.”

The UK’s largest nightclub company, Rekom UK, and pub chain Revolution have also reported suffering from a shortage of bouncers.

Peter Marks, chief executive of Rekom UK, which operates sites such as Pryzm in Birmingham and Cardiff and Attic in Aberdeen and Hull, said the problem was “slowly developing but has become much worse since the pandemic”.

The latest hiring pressure comes as hospitality venues are being hit by rising costs, including rising energy bills, which have already led to a 10% increase in costs, according to Ward.

NTIA estimates that nearly 90,000 jobs have been lost in the UK’s nighttime cultural economy since the pandemic began, in a sector estimated to be worth around £36 billion, or 1.6% of GDP, in 2019.

Hospitality and tourism chiefs have appealed to the government to permanently lower the value-added tax rate for their sector in the upcoming budget to help protect thousands of jobs.

The tax rate on bars, restaurants, holiday accommodation and entry to some attractions was temporarily lowered to 5% in 2020, but rose to 12.5% ​​at the beginning of October, and is set to return to the pre-pandemic level of 20% next April. .

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