Should hospitality be furloughed again this winter?

[User135644]

The energy crisis is going to be catastrophic and there's no cap for businesses. If we do nothing basically the vast majority will be forced to shut and then we've got support people with benefits etc and less tax revenue.

Given people are already going to be hard up, could we just furlough all the pubs and restaurants for the winter while we try to work out a solution to this madness? I'd hate to see all the pubs shut for good otherwise.

At least businesses & workers pay tax

Crazy idea. It would make much more sense to support businesses with rising energy costs. I am pretty sure that would be significantly cheaper too!

Op, no I’m sorry , that’s never going to happen. Benefits are much cheaper than furlough and of course the vast majority won’t shut.

A school was on tv saying their bill has increased by 500k!!!

Where will the revenues come from when everything has closed and gone?.

Not everything will be closed and gone.

Absolutely not, and I say that as a former hospitality industry manager. Many industries are facing increasing costs and, unlike during the pandemic, there is an obvious way to mitigate that. Increase prices. That may negatively affect demand to some extent, but that’s business.

No. Furlough went on far too long as it was.

People will have a lot less money in their pockets to spend this Christmas due to their own energy bills. Nights out are a luxury now.

Perhaps they could fill the many other job vacancies? Here there's plenty of work still be advertised in hospitality and retail but also care is desperately recruiting and there's multiple opportunities to train as a truck or bus driver. None of these require high levels of previous qualifications (obviously a drivers licence but they help you get the relevant extended licence) so suitable for many applicants. Also there's food supply chain work locally to me, warehouse... if the pub only opens Thursday-Sunday people have options

If you look specifically at pubs, many of them were struggling pre-pandemic anyway. Huge rents to the brewers, small margins on beer, cheaper alternatives in terms of supermarket costs of beer and wine, the younger generation drinking less. The industry was already on its knees, furlough might have kicked the inevitable down the road for a couple of years, but at huge expense to the tax payer. The entire business model needs revamping, not financing to cripple along for another year or so.

And was massively abused. Company I was working for was an essential service yet still furlough half the office staff and gave the other half twice as much work. Then made me redundant after.

I still see tonnes of busy cafes, restaurants and bars.
You are being ridiculously dramatic.

Why should we pay furlough for subsidising pubs when we have 10 hour waits in A&E? If the government want to fritter away millions, the NHS and public services should come first.

If staff are laid off, they can find work elsewhere. If staff are furloughed, they will just sit there and not bother to find alternative employment.

I do feel sorry for anyone in hospitality, or any non-essential business, right now. They are always hardest hit in a recession but this year they've also got staggering energy bills to pay. I don't think furlough is the answer but agree that small businesses need support with energy to avoid going under, and this must surely form part of the government's eventual package of support alongside residential users.

No. Where is the money for this going to come from?!

@User135644

Nights out may be a luxury for some (always were) but here you still struggle to get table reservations! I had to book 6.15 because too many people already were booked for 7.30/8 tomorrow night, a random Wednesday.

It's still the summer holidays just about. I'm talking about when winter kicks in and the energy bills skyrocket. Neither has happened yet.

The scheme of support for hospitality will probably need to be something similar to furlough. Something like 4 million jobs depend on the sector, the vast majority of those are in small to medium sized businesses. Could we withstand such catastrophic job loses? I think not.

Yes, in a tight labour market it’s a great idea to pay lots of people to sit at home (freezing?) at huge public expense instead of them filling the vacancies in other sectors that do exist. That definitely won’t stoke public resentment…

This is not a short term problem that needs “breathing space” - high energy costs are going to be with us for years and the sooner we start adjusting the better.

Furlough in these circumstances would essentially be charging the taxpayer twice over instead of targeting the obscene profiteering of the energy companies. Making the people crippled by the energy crisis responsible for paying for the staff of Wetherspoons et al to stay at home for months because it costs money to heat a pub is really beyond the pale.

No because it isn't just pubs and restaurants venues that will suffer. It's every non-essential service. Hair dressers, (most) clothes shops, tattoo and piercing studios, theatres, cinemas, fair grounds, theme parks, activity places (can't think of a collective word, but like bowling alleys and ice rinks), co-working spaces, coffee shops, Sandwich shops, etc etc etc. Yeah it's a shame if we lose some pubs and restaurants but a bartender isn't more deserving of furlough than anyone else.

There should be a plan to reduce energy bills, not furlough.

No we can't afford it . Businesses have to be viable in good times and bad .

Every business will feel the effects of rising bills, we cant just close the country down. Plus halloween, Christmas and NYE bring in lots of trade. And I quite like being able to go for a pint.

A lot of heads in the sand over what's around the corner.