As covid-19 benefits are rolling to an end, the hospitality industry is having a hard time of it with staff having to self-isolate.
Today the stamp duty holiday finishes; the remission of stamp duty on houses up to £500000 finishes today. That means that tomorrow the same house would cost a lot more money. Stamp duty is an important area of revenue raising for the government and clearly the time has come for tax payers to start to make contributions to the exchequer. Furlough schemes too are running out and employers are having to decide what they are going to do about their staffing.
But what has taken people by surprise is the fact that in many cases restaurants have had to close because one member of the staff has tested positive for covid-19 so the whole staff have to go off for a ten day isolation and the period in question is ten days, even if the individual tests negative after the start of isolation.
Catering businesses are going to be especially badly hit. Imagine – social distancing in kitchens is very difficult because they tend not to be very large. And if your entire catering team has to go home for ten days, a business has little choice but to close for a temporary period.
However, the problem for food businesses is actually a lot more serious because your daily arrival of fresh produce could come in and an hour later the entire business is closed for ten days because of a covid-19 potential contact issue. Bang goes your nice fresh produce or, in the case of a pub, your short term ales which may well have gone off by the time everyone returns.
This sort of stop - go trade is actually potentially far more damaging than simply being closed and staying that way. Businesses stand to lose far more money because they are wound up ready to operate and then get no income.
There is no real solution at the moment and no specific help designed to meet this situation.
On 19th July everyone is hoping that all restrictions will come to an end and self-isolation will be a thing of the past.
Really?
With new cases marching forward at an exponential rate, it seems inconceivable that there will be no restrictions at 19th July. Are they really going to allow someone who tests positive to roam around in public as if nothing had happened? Will catering businesses be allowed to continue if it is known that the staff are infectious? Has this not been thought out properly or have we been misled? With a 71% seven day increase in new cases, the UK really has a lot to be worried about.
Adrian Leopard 30-06-21
Photo Evan Wise