More supermarkets at risk of closure unless government acts now over labour shortages, industry figures warn

More supermarkets will be forced to close while shelves will lay empty unless the government takes urgent action to alleviate a shortage of lorry drivers and shop-floor staff, industry figures have warned.

Supermarkets said on Tuesday they are facing a “perfect storm” of factors that have stopped food and drink making its way onto shop floors. Haulage bosses warned of deepening problems in the run-up to Christmas without an emergency visa scheme for EU drivers and a plan to train more people up.

The stark warning came as the government denied reports that up to 2,000 army personnel were being put on standby to deliver food supplies if the crisis deepened further.

Industry trade body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) sought to play down the severity of the situation and reassure shoppers that disruption was “minor” and gaps on shelves would be temporary.

However, privately, supermarket chains are expressing deeper concerns.

“It’s a perfect storm. There is the driver shortage and staff having to self-isolate,” said a source at one major supermarket chain. “Alongside that, with the hot weather, sales of certain items went through the roof. We don’t have the levels of stock in the system that we need to replenish that.”

With millions of people staying in the UK this summer thanks to ongoing travel restrictions, supermarkets have struggled to order the right levels of stock. Items including sparkling water and dried pasta are among those in particularly short supply.

“Self-isolation at a store level is not such an issue,” the person said. “We have people in stores to put stuff on shelves but behind the scenes at depots and suppliers we have an issue. They don’t have the people to pack it.”

However, an insider at another major supermarket said the so-called pingdemic was a major issue.

“Shops will be closing unless the government lets supermarket staff take a test and get back to work if they're negative,” they said.

“The government claims to be listening but they're not hearing what we're saying. It's called a supply chain for a reason - it's only as strong as its weakest link.

“The success of keeping the nation fed last year was that every link in the chain was protected, not just one.”

Last month, the government relaxed self-isolation rules to allow some food production workers to continue to work if they have been in close contact with someone who has Covid, as long as they take tests and are negative. However, shop-floor workers are not covered and must stay at home if they have been pinged by the NHS Covid app.

The government has said that from 16 August it plans to change the rules so that people who have had two vaccines do not have to self-isolate. Around three-quarters of people have now been double jabbed.

Many supermarket workers are young, and are disproportionately likely to have not yet had both doses.

Agency staff are being drafted in while some retailers including Tesco and John Lewis have increased wages for drivers in a bid to attract enough workers. But haulage bosses have said it could take 18 months to train up the 100,000 extra drivers needed to fully meet the economy’s needs.

The shortage has been deepening for years but has been exacerbated by an exodus of EU drivers during the pandemic and after Brexit.

Further down the supply chain, producers said the situation is not improving.

“It’s pretty bad in our industry,” said a spokesperson for the British Meat Processors Association “It’s not just the pingdemic, that’s been another level of pain. It’s an ongoing labour shortage.”

Mark Harrison, policy manager at the Food & Drink Federation, said the industry was working hard to mitigate the labour shortages in the short term. The FDF and other trade bodies have called for a short-term visa for HGV drivers, many of whom have left the UK. The industry is also seeking a long-term increase in training.

“Given that the solutions industry proposes are likely to have long lead-in times, we urge the government to begin implementing them as soon as possible to ensure capacity is available in advance of Christmas demand ramping up from the Autumn,” Mr Harrison said.

A government spokesperson said: "The recent pandemic has proven that the UK has a large, diverse and highly resilient food supply chain that has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges.

"We are working closely with the haulage industry to understand and address recent pressures.”