something went wrong, please try again later.  get the latest nostalgia features and photo stories from belfast nostalgia straight to your inbox  northern ireland is suffering a real shortage of staff in the hospitality sector.  just a month after many reopened their doors for the first time since 2020 some have been unable to keep their usual business hours despite a steady flow of customers through the city's still music-deprived venues.  colin neill, hospitality ulster's ceo, admits he doesn't know one pub, café, restaurant or hotel that has not been short of staff since reopening in may.  he also says no one "really has a handle" on just how many workers the industry is short but that it is now the second biggest challenge they are facing after coronavirus.  in a frank interview with belfast live, mr neill said: "i don't know anybody who is fully staffed.  "it's huge and it's not just northern ireland - it's right across the uk. i would say after covid, it's our next biggest challenge and for a number of reasons. pre-covid we were northern ireland's fourth-largest sector employer with 54,000 direct jobs. nobody has a handle on the shortage because nobody knows.  "if you ask anybody, they say 'i need every type' of staff."  the pandemic struck a huge blow to the businesses where people gathered to socialise but mr neill said brexit has also hit hard in terms of workforce and rising food prices.  (image: pic: justin kernoghan/belfast live)  "coming into brexit there was a reduction in access to labour and pre-brexit there was a global shortage of chefs, then when we got into covid our european workforce went home," he explained. "they were maybe worried about getting sick here on their own or went home to look after family and then haven't come back.  "we have then obviously people on furlough and when you are on furlough you can have another job.  "i know a case of one person who had another job, got furloughed in that job and then got another job - so they were getting two furloughs and a salary. others are going 'i'm not going to come back yet because i don't know if you will get to stay open' - there's all the uncertainty until people know we are fully back."  colin says the industry is facing "huge challenges" finding staff as a result and that it relates to "every job role going".  "there just aren't the bodies - that's the killer. i don't know where they are," he continued.  "you could argue 'you pay crap for dishwashers' or whatever," but he said "it's at every level - from managerial level right through, skilled, unskilled, front of house, back of house".  (image: justin kernoghan/belfast live)  "chefs are well paid here and they just don't exist," he added.  "there's a number of factors playing into it but what we are seeing is resulting in premises opening a limited time because they don't have the staff to run them for full hours.  "people are short staffed and instead of opening a seven day week, you're opening five."  mr neill says they are also seeing people asking to work four longer days instead of five in search of a better "work-life balance" on their return to hospitality - which is also creating some change.  asked if the industry is reconsidering its rates of pay, he said: "you can only pay what you can charge and you have people complaining about the price of a pint.  "people have got used to supermarket prices and all of the overheads, the rates, the lights, the seats you are sitting in, the rent - all that has to be paid for and it's a case of - if we pay staff more we will have to put the prices up - and people complain so you are always caught.  "plus, in northern ireland we have only got half the disposable income of the rest of the uk, so again, price points. then you've got business rates.  "our business rates are the highest in the uk and we have higher energy costs. people keep saying to me - you're nearly the same price as london - [but] we have the same costs. larne's business rates on the main street are the same as regent street in london."  in order to try and help fill some of the roles needed, colin said hospitality ulster has set up a task force to work on the issue. he says jobs across the industry are also being widely advertised while the industry is working with government departments in relation to apprenticeship schemes.  i relation to the current opening, he said: "there's just not enough people to respond to them and a lot of people who are in other jobs are saying 'i'm not coming back until you are permanently open'.  "that's the big thing because if they have gone off and got another job driving for amazon or working in a supermarket, [they're saying] i don't know if there'll be furlough in three or four months and [what] if i come back and you're shut.  "there's a lot of factors pressing on it."  a quick trawl through job centre online offered up 263 open catering and hospitality positions on friday evening - behind only care assistant and childcare roles as well as the professional and executive category, which includes teachers and social workers.  and it seems every role from cooks to night porters, casual bar staff to baristas, pastry chefs and the more upmarket chef du parties (section chefs) are needed.  for the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter here.
hospitality businesses across northern ireland now struggling to find staff to fill a range of roles