Staff shortages - why?

[Buttalapasta]

I've just read the thread on pharmacist shortages. My mum's GP practice has cut its opening hours due to shortages and the local pub now closes at 9 for the same reason! Why? I know Brexit had some impact but surely not this much? Is it down to poor wages? Early retirement? It seems strange that so many places can't seem to get staff yet they aren't offering higher wages? Any economists know?

Businesses need to be far more flexible - offering increased part time, compressed hours, job shares, wfh roles, to increase access to work. Also less discrimination in hiring an older/younger workforce.

Lack of training in specialised roles

Brexit (Tories)

I'm curious as to how these early retirees expect to enjoy their (40 year?) retirement with an ailing NHS not able to cope with their complex needs as they age. There has also been a lot of research around those who retire early having less meaning/purpose in life which leads to feelings of isolation and worse health outcomes.

How do people on this thread think the situation might resolve itself?

I know two over 50s who recently took early retirement to be carers for relatives. I'm over 50 and cannot work because I have a disabled older child. There are major issues with school transport in my area due to staff (especially older experienced staff) leaving during covid.

It's only up to a certain amount, around £800 or something. Full time nursery places are often more than that.

Brexit, silver exodus & ageing population

How do people on this thread think the situation might resolve itself?

the situation will not resolve itself, intervention is needed

I think companies are less willing to put in the work to train someone up, they just want someone who already knows what they are doing. One of my friends, who is now a doctor started thier career as a pharmacy assistant fresh out of school and was trained on the job with the pharmacist. Now when I have seen similar jobs, they want a certain level of experience already. There is no way a young adult out of school would get the job.

I work in retail and honestly I am thinking I may be better off returning to being a SAHM.

My company will only give sales assistants 4 hour shifts. They will only contract me for 12 hours even though I work over 16 every week, so no tax free childcare. On top of that I rarely get the 10-2 shift so I have to arrange before or after school care which costs most of what my shift pays. School holidays are a nightmare, because they are busier they expect me in every day, so I miss out on the children's holidays and pay for the privilege. They say they don't have the funds for more staff. I wouldn't mind if they added more hours onto my existing shifts but they have said no because then they would have to do that for everyone and the rota won't work. Not to mention the last minute rota changes that happen after I have paid for after school club. I feel like my life revolves around what should be a part time minimum wage job and frankly I have had enough, as have many others on my team.

If shops and bars would offer set shifts, I'm sure they would be able to fill more positions. Who wants to devote thier life to a 12 hour minimum wage contract? Complete flexibility is too much to expect from people.

Actually it's even less, I just looked and it's £646 maximum for one child. Full time nursery places are over £800 a month usually, some even more than that.

Brexit and over a decade of damaging Tory policies.

Personally I think the limited university places are a problem. It stops a lot of people who would like to train as a pharmacist and would be clever enough but cannot get a place due to the intense competition.

There is not intense competition for places on pharmacy courses in general, and there's no limit imposed on the number of places available. It might be the case that some particular pharmacy courses are competitive, but I know several that have a desperate battle to fill places in Clearing. If you have the required level of academic ability and are sensible in where you choose to apply, it is not difficult to get a place to study pharmacy.

The people I know who have taken early retirement love it.
They use their time doing things they enjoy. Of course they can afford to retire and have worked hard so now feel they benefits of not having to get up at the crack of dawn and trudge out to work.
They travel, a lot, exercise and spend time on themselves.
Some also spend time looking after their property doing diy and gardening. Meeting up with their friends etc etc. Maybe helping their own parents and children, something which those of us who work can't do.

Yes, surely if people have taken early retirement it's because they can afford to. So what incentive would they have for going back to work? I'm 33 and if I had the money to retire now I would! I don't think a huge percentage of people actually go to work purely for the enjoyment of the job.

The solution is essentially to have a significantly difference between NMW and benefits. There are obvious disincentives to working when you aren't going to be significantly better off than if you don't work or just do very minimal hours. Particularly if the type of work you're qualified for is menial/ unpleasant/ unsocial hours.
^
To be clear, it's not that I think benefits enable people to have a great lifestyle - they don't. The problem is - you can be working hard all week in a full time job and you still don't have a great lifestyle.

I also think that while it's only a hard core very small minority of people who try to not work at all and live long term on benefits, there are a hell of a lot of people who deliberately remain 'under employed' and will only work the minimum they need to in order to get top ups.

The solution really isn't rocket science: wages need to be higher so that anyone who works full time even in the shittiest most worse paid job is going to be^ tangibly better off than if they don't. How we reach that point is the more tricky thing- not the solution

I know Brexit had some impact but surely not this much it had a MASSIVE impact.

Also, people reassessed their jobs and did the big quit during covid. Lots of people retired early. There are many many people affected by long covid.

This, in a nutshell.

@ivykaty44
"How do people on this thread think the situation might resolve itself?"

the situation will not resolve itself, intervention is needed

What do you think intervention could look like?

I assume the government is looking at routes to getting more skilled migrants into the country.
Perhaps a reform of childcare provision and higher pay for public sector workers would have an impact.
Better apprenticeship schemes that give people the skills that employers need?
More accessible "earn whilst you learn" schemes, to enable people to better themselves to a level where 'working pays'?

Yes, I know people like this. I can’t imagine how the government thinks it’s going to persuade them back to the rat race or to some retail job working with the vile public. If I could afford to retire in my 50s, there’s no bloody way I be working!

Many of the vacancies will be with 1 chain which now controls many pharmacies and tries to pay the minimum. Many independent pharmacies manage. Few pharmacists came from the EU so Brexit not an issue here. Also pharmacists are being employed more in hospitals and primary care with better Ts&Cs than being a retail pharmacist for a large chain.

Yes to all of the above plus the 16 hour requirement for universal credit. I used to have a second job with an agency that did direct payments for children with disabilities. Many of the staff would work exactly 16 hours a week, no more, no less or it would affect their universal credit. I left because after paying tax and national insurance, I earned less than £7 per hour and had to pay travel costs on top of that yet others earned over £10 as they weren’t paying tax, then they got universal credit on top of that, and who can blame them really?

Plus many nurseries around here have closed down so spaces are limited, expensive and if your child has SEND, you can’t even get through the door to view the nursery.

Sorry, mean to quote @Penguinsaregreat there.

Our GP said no one wants to join a partnership any more they want to just be contractors so they don't have to cope with the paperwork or do the unsocial hours. They just want a 9 to 5, plus all the tax breaks of forming their own company. I think he is the only partner left now a couple have retired (the rest are contracted) and he is feeling the strain, and as the only Doctor patients know well every one wants to see him. We're not rural.

Another one questioning how the over 50s (say aged 50-57) can afford to retire.

I am well off, I have savings and a substantial pension pot but I can’t retire without eroding that savings pot and still have dependents to support.

Are people taking their pensions from 55 and just thinking that the government or benefits system will provide for them?

It's not 16 hours for Universal Credit, that was with the old tax credits system. UC is different, it's based on earnings rather than hours worked.

There are plenty of pharmacy schools in the UK and we've been close to having an oversupply, driving wages lower. The issue at the moment is no-one wants to be an employed comminity based pharmacist as the wages are low for the level of responsibility we have, lack of support staff means you end up working under extreme pressure and live in fear of making a serious mistake. There are plenty of locum pharmacists around but they charge higher rates. Pharmacies have vacancies for shifts but instead of getting a locum in which is what they should be doing they are reducing hours. Local health boards should not be getting away with this and I would complain. People think being in the private sector you get wage increases every year or bonuses, we don't. If the company meets the target you can go from a 1 to 3% increase. Compare that to what other sectors are asking for, the increase in living costs affect everyone.

Lots of pharmacy graduates are going straight into being a locum for a higher rate of pay and having the flexibility to choose when and where you work and being able to negotiate your rate of pay. Many are also heading to hospitals which make better use of their clinical skills and gp practices because they get paid better and actually valued for their clinical skills. When Joe public thinks all you do is stick labels on medicine boxes and moan at you because they have to wait longer than 5 minutes or because the pharmacy is empty but you still look busy whilst working with one member of staff who isn't fully trained why would anyone want to do the job. I finally handed in notice after 9 years of being with one company because the anxiety caused by working with untrained staff leading to dangerous work practices was making me ill.

DH and I will retire at 55. We both have good pensions. I can take the majority of mine with no penalty and receive a lump sum (NHS). Both DC will be leaving uni and we have significant savings (mostly through inheritance with potentially a decent sum more to come) and a four bed house which we will probably downsize.