Daytime boozing only hope for uk pubs says george charles

Restaurants and pubs who have been feeling the crippling effects of lockdown are about to go through round two as they face the loss of their valuable late-night custom. The new restrictions

will see fewer shifts available, meaning fewer jobs and therefore job losses. Job losses sadly seemed an inevitable effect of the pandemic from the beginning, with the furlough scheme

merely delaying what was to come. Before the announcement was even made Wetherspoons announced they were set to cut nearly half of their 1,000 airport-based jobs. Admittedly, this is an

expected reaction because airports have had a considerable reduction of footfall, but this could be a sign of what we can expect to see as pubs continue to face critical restrictions and as

a result, less footfall. One area of debate was the fine line between stabilising the economy and keeping people safe; it goes without saying keeping people safe is the absolute priority,

but these latest restrictions could see the mass closure of businesses. The confidence consumers have in the hospitality sector was being restored through the Eat Out to Help Out scheme but

actions like this will see the confidence that was built up quickly crumble. How can businesses react to this? Primarily, day drinking, especially on weekends, will increase because pub

culture is a huge part of British tradition and Britons will find a way of making the new restrictions work for them. Pubs will have to react accordingly and make previsions for slower

weekdays because Britons will have less time to drink in the evenings after work. While the Government is seemingly trying to pull out all the stops before announcing another full closure,

this 10pm curfew will be hugely concerning for pubs across the country as it is one step closer to them being asked to stop trading. The biggest area of concern is that these restrictions

could very likely be in place for six months, resulting in a huge amount of money lost by local businesses. The Government has also highlighted the need for fans to stay away from major

sporting events, now it will be interesting to see what implications this has for the semi-professional levels because these clubs rely on fans coming to the ground to survive. Taking this

money away from them when fans have only just started coming back would make survival incredibly difficult for the smaller clubs. Pubs do play a big part in the transmission of the disease

because once people have had a few drinks it is then difficult to maintain social distancing, the track and trace in place at a lot of pubs has also been below par and they will need to

adapt fast to ensure they are complying with all of the measures set in place. It is very likely that 2020 will be a record-breaking year, but for the wrong reasons. Pubs will close, the

high street will continue its slide towards a bleak future. It is no exaggeration to suggest that the immediate effects of the coronavirus pandemic will be felt for a good number of years.

It is unlikely that our high streets will ever look the same and we could see more local businesses shut up shop for good as tougher restrictions could be just around the corner. The light

at the end of the tunnel has quickly faded and has been replaced with another massive challenge for the hospitality sector. Government backing will be needed if they are to return to

normality but funds are also needed across a myriad of other sectors to prevent job losses as we head further into this recession. _George Charles is Operations Director at

MoneySavingHeroes.co.uk_