Pubs and restaurants: Staff shortages threaten Welsh hospitality industry

Pubs, cafes and restaurants are all waiting to welcome customers back inside on Monday - but staff shortages mean some are struggling to reopen.

One leading Welsh recruitment firm said the sector was in crisis.

"I have never seen anything like this in 35 years in the industry," said Simon James of Atlantic resource recruitment agency .

Even one of Wales' Michelin star restaurants has turned to social media in a bid to recruit a new head chef.

Shaun Hill, chef patron at The Walnut Tree near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, said he was opening - but still had gaps in the kitchen: "I'll need a new head chef to work with me if anyone has any ideas," he tweeted.

The online agency Indeed said it was inundated with businesses who need staff. Most hard to find have been chefs, with salaries of more than £40,000 on offer in the Cardiff area.

Asador, a Spanish restaurant in the centre of Cardiff, will not be opening as it cannot get enough staff, with other team members helping out in sister restaurants.

Natalie Isaac, director of its bar and restaurant firm 44 Group, said the situation was "horrendous".

She said they are trying to open three bars but still cannot find the staff they need.

It is not only affecting bars and restaurants. The Imperial Hotel in the Conwy resort town of Llandudno usually employs 100 people, but only has 65 staff ready to reopen on Monday.

The trade body that represents businesses from hotels to fish and chip shops, UKHospitality Cymru, said the crisis threatens Wales' economic recovery.

Before the pandemic, more than 106,400 people worked in the industry in Wales and it spreads further employment into communities and businesses that supply it - with Wales' food and drink supply chain worth £22bn in 2019.

Simon James, of Atlantic, said that was making even unemployed people wary of taking up a job in the sector, in case they lost it again and then had to wait for benefit claims again.

At the same time, he said that he had spoken to many skilled chefs who had been working in different jobs during lockdown, and were now staying in those industries because work-life balance was better.

"I know of a really respected top chef who has been working as a carpenter and is staying with that rather than returning to the kitchen," he said.

He said there was then the added complication of Brexit, in a sector that had traditionally relied heavily on staff from other EU nations.

Mr James said many had returned to their families during lockdown and no longer wanted to work in Wales because Brexit had made it more difficult.

City centre bars in Wales' university cities and towns have always been reliant on students, not just for custom but also serving customers. But Covid has meant many students have simply have remained at home this year, especially those studying in Wales from overseas.