Covid returns to hit hospitality and housebuilders
Retailers, hospitality groups and housebuilders are under strain from a rise in Covid-related staff absences.
Businesses across a range of sectors are facing disruption from staff unwell with the virus after record infections were recorded in Britain last month.
UKHospitality said its members were starting to experience increased absences due to illness, exacerbating underlying staff shortages. “The situation is not as severe as it was last summer, or in the lead up to Christmas, but absences are beginning to tick up and cause challenges.”
Retailers, hospitality groups and housebuilders are under strain from a rise in Covid-related staff absences.
Businesses across a range of sectors are facing disruption from staff unwell with the virus after record infections were recorded in Britain last month.
UKHospitality said its members were starting to experience increased absences due to illness, exacerbating underlying staff shortages. “The situation is not as severe as it was last summer, or in the lead up to Christmas, but absences are beginning to tick up and cause challenges.”
Kate Nicholls, chief executive, said a quarter of its members had adjusted their opening hours in February because of staff shortages, resulting in a fall in sales of between 17% and 20%. She said the rise in infections, combined with the cost of living crisis, was contributing to a softening in consumer demand.
The Home Builders Federation said its members were experiencing “higher levels of absence as a result of Covid, which has had an inevitable impact on some build programmes”.
Covid infections reached a record high in the UK in the week ending 26 March, with 4.9m people having the virus, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The Times (£)
