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Pubs need three weeks’ notice ahead of restart after lockdown
PUBS must be given a minimum of three weeks’ notice to ensure their survival once lockdown is lifted, industry chiefs have warned.
Trade body the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said a notice period will also give brewers the time needed to ramp up operations so they can begin supplying pubs with fresh beer again.
The association said three weeks would provide sufficient time to prepare, but four weeks would be an ideal notice period. Such measures will help ensure that pubs survive the early months of re-opening, the BBPA said.
Emma Mcclarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said: “It is extremely important that the beer and pub industry are closely consulted on the lifting of the lockdown restrictions when the crisis is over.”
She added: “The reopening process for the trade will be hard and it’s imperative the Government works with the trade to get it right, or else the situation would see even more pubs close.”
Most pub companies have placed the majority of their staff on temporary leave after customers were barred from drinking in establishments during lockdown.
The BBPA said a three-week time frame would also allow pubs to provide sufficient notice to furloughed staff that they are required to return to work.
Pubs will also require some relaxation of social distancing measures ahead of re-opening, the BBPA added, so staff are able to ensure sites are ready to operate.
British pubs have been hit hard by Government restrictions to try to contain the spread of coronavirus, with some publicans converting their sites into shops in order to keep money ringing through the tills during lockdown.
Simon Emeny, Fuller’s chief executive, warned this week that pubs must not rush into opening once lockdown is lifted as they risked taking on heavy costs during a predicted extended period of subdued sales.
“We’ve got to be very careful that we don’t push too hard to open too quickly,” Mr Emeny told industry publication Propel Hospitality.
“When you hear stories about TFL bus drivers losing their lives through the virus and how uncomfortable it is even going to a shop, it’s not something I would wish to force on our industry. I don’t think we’re the most conducive places for social distancing.”
Experts predict that the hospitality sector is set for a further prolonged period of pain when restrictions are lifted as consumers express more caution. Nigel Parson, a leisure analyst at Canaccord Genuity, said that restrictions for pubs, restaurants, bars and cinemas are likely to be the last to be lifted.
“It depends on the levels of social distancing measures that customers are prepared to tolerate, which could include bigger spaces between tables, a shift to disposable menus, cashless payment and more rigorous cleaning regimes,” he said.