Business leaders across South Yorkshire predict 'testing' months ahead due to Omicron surge

Dan Fell from Doncaster's Chamber of Commerce isn't convinced enough support measures are currently in place to help companies cope with staff absences

Author: Chris Davis-SmithPublished 7th Jan 2022

Business leaders across South Yorkshire are predicting that the next few months could be the 'toughest of the pandemic' so far.

Many sectors are having to cope without large numbers of staff right now due to the impact of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

Dan Fell from Doncaster's Chamber of Commerce says it's far from ideal for a lot of companies right now:

"What we have for many sectors is almost lockdown-like because people are still being discouraged from certain types of activity.

"So, for those particular industries and their supply chains, it feels like they're getting all of the pain at the moment, but the support available to them really isn't sufficient.

"We're into the early stages of the New Year and it's a quiet time anyway, so the fact a lot of businesses have had a bad Christmas financially and have a huge debt overhang means that it's probably the toughest time yet for many companies."

Meanwhile, the recent surge in the Omicron variant has also led to a lack of delivery drivers on the roads, with many having to isolate.

It's left a lot of companies without the stock they need to trade properly, but Mr. Fell reckons supply chain issues have been problematic for a while:

"Even pre-pandemic and pre-Brexit, certain sectors just haven't been able to access the people they've needed.

"That's been exacerbated throughout the last six to twelve months, and just getting people in to work to do the job is now a huge challenge for businesses. We've got to find a way of solving this as a society and as a country."

Grants of up to six thousand pounds were made available by the Government last month to help certain industries affected by the Omicron outbreak.

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