Businesses across Cumbria have suffered due to the pingdemic, a new survey by the county’s chamber of commerce has found.
More than 55 per cent of respondents said staff members having to self-isolate after being pinged by the NHS Test & Trace App has had a knock-on effect on their businesses and around 10 per cent said they had to close due to staffing and recruitment issues.
Cumbria Chamber of Commerce carried out the quick-fire poll among 200 businesses.
It also found:
- Sixty-five per cent of businesses have been negatively impacted by recruitment issues and hiring staff amid the ongoing labour and skills shortage.
- Twenty-one per cent of those affected report the impact beginning during the ‘pingdemic’ of the past two months.
- Forty-three per cent of businesses which have remained open have had to run at a reduced capacity due to a loss of staff which are having to self-isolate.
Suzanne Caldwell, managing director of the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, said: “Our latest poll and its findings are a continuation of that work and it endorses what we have been highlighting and lobbying the Government for this year – a relaxation of immigration policy, financial support extensions, short-term work visas under an Australian-style model, theErasmus-replacement Turing Scheme to come into effect months ago rather than in September as well as a better UK-EU arrangement around red tape on exports and access to workers.
“The snapshot shown from this feedback shows that businesses are far from out of the woods. Many are still having to operate at reduced capacity, which has a serious impact on their ability to recover.
“And in the visitor economy it means that they can’t make the most of the ‘staycation boom’ to help remedy the last 18 months.
“The Government needs to proactively look at how it can continue to support employers with a business-first approach as all experts are predicting the effects of the current issues to continue to impact on economic growth well into 2022.”
Businesses which took part in the survey came from sectors including manufacturing, business and financial services, hospitality, tourism and museums, retail, food and catering, agriculture, education, training and academia, archaeology, charity, digital marketing, logistics, printing, jewellery, beauty therapy, bridal and weddings as well as healthcare and dental.
A number of businesses confirmed they have to reduce opening hours and/or the level of operating service due to staffing issues, which were magnified by issues related to the Test and Trace App.
A Kendal-based business said: “We own multiple cafes, one of which has had to close as four staff members were ‘pinged’ in the same week. We are now having to reduce our offering and close two days a week going forward as we can’t find enough staff to reopen at full capacity.”
An Ambleside-based business said: “We need support in recruiting and the knowledge of where and how to recruit effectively. The fact that there is a lack of people wishing to work within an industry that is hugely exciting and offering many opportunities is so disappointing.
“There is still a massive stigma attached to working in a general public-facing role in this format and we need some proper structure for the industry to recruit, whether that’s through a variety of means including an Armed Forces-style recruitment drive.
“Employers need to be advised and helped regarding conditions of work and contracts.”
A Cumbrian manufacturing business said: “The whole COVID situation has affected our supply chain for months and continues to do so with further outbreaks in Asia causing factories to close for two to four weeks.”
Another manufacturer added that “some supply issues of raw materials and price increases due to increased transport costs” were their key concerns.
A Cumbrian business which focuses on training put the blame on the government “who should not have opened the free-for-all without properly thinking the affects through.”
A wedding-focused hospitality business said: “We have been affected by the direct closure of parts of our supply chain, closure of local hotels that directly affects our clients’ ability to stay in the locality.
“Also relatives of staff getting pinged, which has directly affected our ability to provide the correct staffing levels needed to operate. However, the app is only part of the issue.
“We need to tackle the problem not just the effects of it.”
