Bettys faces major recruitment crisis as hospitality sector has seen exodus of staff in wake of coronavirus pandemic

Senior managers at Bettys have confirmed that the Harrogate-based institution, which is famed for its tearooms centred on Yorkshire, has a wealth of vacancies that has meant some showpiece venues have had to revise their opening hours despite a huge surge in customer numbers.

The company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019, needs to recruit nearly 70 staff across its bakery operations as well as its tearoom branches in five locations across Yorkshire.

The industry body, UKHospitality, has warned that restaurants, pubs and hotels across the country are experiencing similar recruitment problems, as many staff have secured other careers as the hospitality trade was hit particularly hard during the repeated Covid-19 lockdowns.

Nicky Sellers, the branch director at Bettys, said the current situation was the worst recruitment crisis she had experienced in a career in the hospitality sector stretching back 30 years.

Mrs Sellers said: “It is an extremely challenging situation and one that I have never experienced to this extent before.

“Customers are coming back in their droves as lockdown restrictions have eased but we are finding it difficult to ensure we have the necessary staffing numbers at our branches.

"We do recruit seasonally for our busy times, such as the summer months, but people have simply found other jobs due to the uncertainty in hospitality caused by the pandemic and the lockdowns.”

The decision to limit opening hours in Bettys’ tearooms in York and Harrogate, closing the venues at 5pm instead of 9pm due to staffing shortages, is to continue until the end of next month.

The company is looking to recruit 14 staff for its bakery, which has a 154-strong workforce, and 53 employees in its tearooms and shops, which employ 565 people at the branches in York, Harrogate, Ilkley, Northallerton and RHS Harlow Carr.

A deputy catering manager at the Harrogate branch, Chloe Adamowicz, admitted she was surprised that Bettys was experiencing the recruitment crisis due to the business’s reputation.

She said: “I was able to work my way up, first as a part-time catering assistant and now I am the deputy catering manager. They have supported us all the way through the pandemic.”

UKHospitality warned there is a critical shortage of staff in the sector nationally. A survey of 350 hospitality businesses revealed every one has vacancies. Vacancy levels are running at 10 per cent, equating to a shortage of more than 200,000 workers.

Concerns have been raised over the end of the Government’s furlough scheme next month, which has provided financial support for hundreds of thousands of hospitality workers.

About a third of eligible hospitality staff remained on furlough at the end of May, according to the Treasury.

UKHospitality’s chief executive officer, Kate Nicholls, said: “For hospitality to rebuild and play its full role in the economic recovery, additional support for jobs as well as long-term plans to facilitate enhanced training and apprenticeships are vital.”

The hospitality industry is a hugely important sector for the UK’s economy, but has been badly hit during the Covid-19 crisis.

In 2019, the hospitality sector contributed £59.3bn in Gross Value Added to the nation’s economy, which is about three per cent of the UK’s total economic output.

In the three months to September 2020, there were 2.38m jobs in the hospitality sector, representing 6.9 per cent of the UK’s total employment.

While consumer spending on hospitality started to increase in May, it remained at less than 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Office for National Statistics.