Declan Delaney, the owner of what is claimed to be Europe's oldest pub, Sean's Bar in Athlone, has a simple solution for staffing shortages: treat workers well and make sure they are paid "what they're worth".
“The key thing is you have to reward good staff,” says Delaney, who like thousands of other publicans has spent the past number of weeks preparing to reopen indoor services following nearly 15 months of closures.
Nearly 600,000 people received the pandemic unemployment payment last May, and hundreds of thousands remain on it, complicating the business of getting older staff back to work, according to some hospitality employers.
Delaney says there are issues finding experienced staff. “There was definitely more 18-19-year-olds applying because they had never worked before, or maybe people in their early 20s and were possibly working part-time and on PUP.
“I can’t speak for all of them; there was less of an incentive to work because they would have saved a lot of money and were looking at this summer as one to enjoy as opposed to one [spent working],” he says.
There is “plenty of staff, plenty of inexperienced staff, the problem is getting the experience”, he adds. Many hospitality workers decided to leave the sector for good, he says.
Younger staff with relatively little experience in Sean’s Bar can expect to earn about €10 an hour, with more experienced staff earning €12-€13 an hour.
Novelty payment
Anne Flannery runs Flannery's Bar, a 10-minute walk from Sean's Bar.
The establishment, inherited from her father in 2009, is a one-person affair, with Flannery “running the whole show”.
“I do everything in the pub, from pulling pints to cleaning toilets.”
Flannery was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and the added challenge of the lockdown was a “big scare”.
Flannery received the full €350 a week for the past year and regarded it as a “novelty”.
“The PUP was the first time I had €350 a week into my hand,” she says. “I never check a wage, and any income I get goes towards running the pub – whatever bills have to be paid and to feed myself.”
Francisco Reis is the bar manager at the Sheraton Hotel in the town. It has remained open during the pandemic, albeit only for essential workers, with only "20-30 people staying in the hotel per week".
Despite the easing of restrictions on hospitality, Reis says it has been “difficult” to retain staff.
The bar department hires about 25 people, and at the height of the pandemic Reis estimates that half of his staff were on the PUP. Of those, half never returned.
“There was a lot of difficulty getting staff back, or even during the pandemic, getting staff to stay with us,” says Reis.
Echoing Delaney’s views on attempting to hire youthful employees, Reis notes that the bar is still able to attract those of school-leaving age or college age.
With plans afoot to wind down the PUP in September, is Reis hopeful of being able to hire staff on a less competitive salary?
“I hope so,” he replies.