Now Covid app causes chaos at pubs and restaurants: Wetherspoon, Hawksmoor and other venues hit by staff absences with some forced to CLOSE as workers are pinged by test and trace app – as bosses call for ‘test and release’ scheme

• Hospitality bosses are calling for a ‘test and release’ scheme to relieve the crisis
• Last week saw 46 members of staff at a Wetherspoons forced to stay at home 
• A restaurant in Liverpool lost a quarter of its workforce over the weekend
• Comes amid existing shortage of staff due to Brexit and people leaving industry  

Pubs and restaurants already hit by severe labour shortages are being forced to close due to the NHS Covid app repeatedly telling staff to self-isolate – which they must do so for up to ten days even if they test negative for Covid.

Hospitality bosses are calling for a ‘test and release’ scheme to relieve the crisis, which last week saw 46 members of staff at a Wetherspoons in Weston-super-Mare forced to stay at home after coming into contact with positive cases.

Small businesses are particularly struggling, with one restaurant in Liverpool revealing it lost a quarter of its workforce over the weekend on top of an existing labour shortage caused by Brexit and employees quitting over lockdown.

The Cabot Court Hotel, a Wetherspoon pub in Weston-super-Mare, saw 46 staff forced to self-isolate for 10 days last week after four of their colleagues tested positive

The nature of the NHS Covid app – which tells people to self-isolate if they have come within a certain distance of someone who later tests positive – means hospitality staff walking around busy venues are particularly likely to receive notifications.

Dave Critchley, executive chef and director at Lu Ban restaurant and bar in Liverpool, told MailOnline: ‘We lost five people over the weekend at minimal notice after they were pinged by the app.

‘When you are only a small business anyway losing five members of staff meant we had lost a quarter of our workforce.

‘It was already a monumental task to take on this year to make up all the money we lost from last year because we’ve still got last year’s rent and bills to pay.

‘And this is at a time when staff problems are the worst they’ve ever been because of Brexit and people going into different jobs during lockdown.’

Industry body UKHospitality is urging the government to change the rules so staff can return to work after a negative tests.

The rules currently require a period of 10 days self-isolation after the day of coming into contact with the positive case – regardless of whether they then test negative.

Mr Critchley backed the calls, adding: ‘We are seeing 45,000 people in stadiums with no mask and no social distancing and all they’ve had to do is take a test in the morning, so why can’t my staff do that.

‘We are testing our staff every day with a lateral flow test and temperature checks. So why can’t our staff still go into work if they’ve had a negative test?’

Chef Gary Usher has had to close his Manchester restaurant Kala twice because of staff being pinged by the Covid app

Lu Ban restaurant and bar in Liverpool lost a quarter of its staff over the last weekend 

The Cabot Court Hotel, a Wetherspoon pub in Weston-super-Mare, saw 46 staff forced to self-isolate for 10 days last week after four of their colleagues tested positive.

Mark Derry, who sits on the board of several restaurant businesses including New World Trading Company in Cheshire, which has lost 35 days of trading from four of its 29 venues because of staff self-isolating.

The nature of the NHS Covid app – which tells people to self-isolate if they have come within a certain distance of someone who later tests positive – means hospitality staff walking around busy venues are particularly likely to receive notifications

‘It’s complete chaos,’ he told the Financial Times.

The steakhouse and cocktail bar Hawksmoor has received 25 test and trace notifications within four weeks of reopening. Staff are testing three times a week and only one has reported a positive result.

Meanwhile, chef Gary Usher has had to close his Manchester restaurant Kala twice because of staff being pinged by the Covid app.

It will now stay shut until ‘Freedom Day’ on July 19. ‘Reopening and closing the restaurants costs so much money, energy and time, and we are just not able to do this again,’ his restaurant group, Elite Bistros, said.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of industry body UKHospitality, said the situation was ‘a nightmare’ for firms, particularly given many are already suffering a staffing shortage.

Her group is leading calls for a ‘test and release’ scheme which would see staff who were self-isolating could return to work if they had a negative test result.

The NHS Covid app has previously been criticised for glitches, including sending out phantom exposure alerts, causing unnecessary alarm and periods of self-isolation for users.

The steakhouse and cocktail bar Hawksmoor has received 25 test and trace notifications within four weeks of reopening. Staff are testing three times a week and only one has reported a positive result

Source: Read Full Article