Staff shortages are now a national crisis

[Confusedofbritain]

Staff shortages across many sectors is now a national crisis surely? I’ve given up expecting anything of this government, but why isn’t Labour beating them with a stick over this?

Some examples which affect me personally….

• Can’t go on holiday due to cancelled flight, cause by lack of ground staff.
• I work for NHS trust and we have closed a ward due to c 50% vacancies. We have plenty of money but can’t spend it. Now competing with other trusts paying increasingly high golden handshakes.
• Tried to book restaurant for Tuesday birthday. Not possible as all places shut Monday and Tuesday due to short staff (esp chefs).
• Poor service when we do go out. Staff look frazzled.
• Can’t get a builder to do an extension. Often not bothering to quote. Builder friend can’t keep labourers and brickies. Paying increasingly high wages but getting poached.
• Window fitter quoted me 2x higher than 2019 (for a much smaller window!) probably because they’re so busy and can’t increase capacity due to lack of staff. So prices have gone up by 100%.
• Long delay in discharge for father from hospital, due to long waits for care package (caused by staff shortages). He was in hospital a lot longer than necessary and declined hugely as result.

It’s largely caused by Brexit, partly people retiring or changing livelihood during Covid…:.but why wasn’t this anticipated and what are we doing about it?

I want to see posters EVERYWHERE encouraging people to consider NHS careers. It’s a rewarding career, but impossible to cope and keep going with so few staff. We are escalating to NHS England constantly, saying we need a national solution. It’s beyond critical, but I’m not confident that there is a national drive to sort this out.

The economic and social consequences of ignoring this massive structural issue will be disastrous!

First world problems, but Im annoyed with every place having no stock and all the excuses, brexit, covid, staff shortages. Etc etc.

Burger King yesterday had no drinks other than water, I didn’t want water with my meal. I drink shit ton of water at home, I wanted a Coke. Then I went to the toilet and the toilet was broken, sign on the door. Don’t tell me shortage of plumbers. 🤣

Kfc last week had no beans, no gravy and no sauce for ice cream. A couple of weeks before they had no salt sachets and no sugar.

(yes I know, I’m fat and greedy)

Paying for a service (which has gone up ££) but having to make do with whatever you’re given.

....also, higher wages won't solve anything, we simply do not have the available workforce, with good education/skills to fill the vacancies we have.

People who came from the EU, were, in the main, some of the best these countries had, motivated and often v well educated.

anyone who swallowed Bojo's lines on Brexit was an idiot, he supported it because it got him power, that was it, prior to 2015, he was a remainer.

The same issue with imports is happening across Europe and probably the world.

There are import/export problems in other places too. However, in the UK these issues are compounded by all the additional costs and paperwork that have come with trade to and from EU countries which makes the situation here even worse. Lorry drivers are not queued for days on a motorway in other countries. It makes the already undesirable job of lorry driving even less appealing.

We have vacancies in tech, I've recruited a Spanish lady recently, and we have two Brits starting in June. We're having to be a little flexible in terms of hours but not bad.
The visa schemes are pretty easy, all of our roles are allowed.

Building trades are difficult because they can earn more in Germany at the moment.

The problems at airports have been caused by companies leaving it too late to get people through security checks before half term.

The biggest issue is unskilled, waitresses, cleaners, hotel staff etc.

I live in Cumbria. The recruitment problem here is compounded by the number of houses owned as a second homes. In some places, up to 80% of housing is owned by people who don’t live there - meaning they don’t work there, meaning that there is nowhere affordable for those people who do want to work to live.

I did at the start of lockdown, I had planned to work a few more years but didn't like wfh so retired.

CV19 has had a major impact on the workforce.

People have woken up to the fact that life is short and voted with their feet accordingly or retired early

If BREXIT is the cause of all UK’s problem, then it has had a major impact in Australia as they have exactly the same problems I.e.can’t get people to do the jobs that are available

Industry I work in has a shortage of people
They have all left for new jobs that pay more & better T&Cs
Nothing to do with Brexit
However, people are looking for better opportunities after covid (we all worked during covid)

I think it's to do with the population crisis. The number of DC born in Britain is below replacement level. Now that immigration from abroad has decreased, we're getting a view of the problems to come.

I usually err on the positive side of things, always choosing hope over fear.

But I’ve had enough. Reading these replies, man this country is going to the dogs! It’s an absolute shit show.

There is no national leadership at all in addressing these issues. Obviously the Conservative party is a joke, but I’m placing blame on Labour too- they can’t get their act together, deliver a coherent vision and message. They won’t win the next election even though it would be a shoe-in. I think our only hope is a new, centrist party - or an injection of gumption into the Lib Dems.

Bloody depressing!

Just now there are more vacancies than job applicants.

That means people can chose. Why would they chose a backbreaking job like a career, that on the top of it pays badly (and had atrocious working conditions - see not being paid to go from one client to the next, petrol cost not paid etc…) when they can work ‘easier’ jobs that pay better??

Same with airports. Why do companies like that think that it’s ok for them to get rid of everyone during lockdown (instead of furlough) because of covid and then be surprised that people have found other jobs and don’t want to com back?

The whole of the e Ono my was based on using cheap labour form abroad to do all the tasks people here didn’t want to do. I’m thinking harvest (some farmers see 50% of their crops erring mouldy in the field. There is no one to do the harvest), carers, a lot of the food industry in general (from butchers, to vets in slaughter houses to staff in cafe and restaurants).
It was easy to scream that all those people were just stealing the jobs from British people. It was forgetting that actually there wasn’t anyone to replace them (aka they were here because of a lack in the U.K. rather than coming when they were not needed).

Agriculture is really really hard to get any staff.

We are just not paid enough by the supermarkets to pay our staff what they deserve. Why work for us when you can work in Aldi for more money?

Yes covid has had a huge impact too. That’s all over the world.

But the fact that people can afford to leave for better jobs is because there are less people to fill those jobs in the first place.

The U.K. has traditionally relied on foreigners. Foreigners to fill the gaps for doctors and nurses (was already like in 2000. But at the time people we’re finding it distasteful that we wee poaching nurses form SA and taking away people they desperately needed to look after their population). Carers, vets, farm workers etc etc.
The uk is, in part, now paying the price of not training the people it needs. And partly paying the price of automatically relying of outside labour to fill the gaps rather than looking at the big picture.

When those foreigners decide the U.K. isn’t that attractive anymore, they don’t come. That’s what happened last year when they ‘open the doors wide open for fruits pickers’ and found no one wanted to come on such poor terms…

It's the same in Accountancy/Audit/Tax. We are hugely under staffed and just cannot get anyone in despite never struggling in the past. We have been having retention issues as we weren't the highest paying firm in the area but all staff have just got a 7% pay rise (with better annual pay rises promised going forward) and a better benefits package has been announced too so hopefully we start retaining more people. In the meantime though we have had to hire a team of South African auditors who can work for us remotely as we are so desperate. This isn't a small firm either we have nearly 400 staff but can't even move staff between departments as every department is understaffed.

The great resignation/retirement is hitting social care really hard. I've lost track of the number of experienced social workers who have left recently. I know lots of people who retired because they could just about afford it, whereas in previous years they might have waited until they were 65 to top up their pensions as much as possible. They are going because of the stress and pressure they're under, but also because they've realised that life is uncertain and why would you slog your guts out in a broken system for not very much more money?

Fwiw more than half of the vets in the U.K. were Europeans, not British.
with covid plus brexit , they moved back home.
Too many issues and negative points to want to stay.

DH's employers put up the pay this year and then immediately had to do it again just a month later as they were loosing staff to competitors who were paying more.

This govt is rubbish. Wish I hadn’t voted them in but had no idea they would be so dreadful.

😂😂😂

Ever heard of the poverty trap? It's an extremely difficult thing to go from benefits to employment, and for some people, it's just impossible. There are lots of jobs, yes, but the vast majority are low paid and awful hours with irregular shifts, and if you've got kids you're struggling because the low paid can't afford childcare. Even if they can work out childcare, they'll still be on UC - 40% of people who receive UC are in employment, btw. Only, they'll have to change from unemployed to employed UC. Their money will stop, for up to 2 months or even longer, while it gets sorted out, as their entitlements change, they'll lose some benefits and gain others, and the department, surprise surprise, is low staffed and under a lot of pressure. They can't live on low wages for two months, because they live hand-to-mouth. Bearing in mind, if they start in the middle of the month, they won't even get paid any wages at all for 6 weeks.

It's misleading about all the jobs that are free - many are low paid shift work with irregular hours, and part time - it's best for employers because they can have more employees on the books to cover staff absences. It's crap for people who have families or other commitments, though. It's virtually impossible to get help with childcare if you don't know what hours you'll be working from one week to the next and your shifts change all the time. Also, loads of them are in care work, made vacant by economic migrants who left, and NO ONE should be doing a job in care unless they want to do it. So pay care workers better. Give them better conditions and make them feel appreciated, and people who want to do the job will do it, because they can afford to. If they get better pay in a supermarket, they're going to do that, instead.

I won't say, I told you so, but, I'm thinking it. Hopefully many more see the error of their ways, and, also hopefully, by the time of the next election, we'll have a good alternative.

We've just lost 1 cleaner and are about to lose another 1 at my school. Both gone to shop work which is paying better, better perks (staff discount) and much friendlier hours. We can't find replacements, we're in London and the pay is not enough, but we don't have the budget to offer more.

The hours are too long, the conditions to shit, the perks not enough and to rub salt in the wound the pay doesn’t even mean you can survive the basics. Wages need to go back to how it used to be, one main full time workers wages was enough to feed a family and provide a home, now one wagers workers is the full cost of childcare or the rent. It’s ridiculous!!

My friend who is a builder says that materials can be more difficult to source due to longer waiting times for delivery, higher delivery costs etc. He is based in London and says builders don’t want to work in some parts of London due to ridiculously high parking charges. He has to turn away many jobs because he can’t manage the amount of requests for work and the prices of materials are making quotes very high.