Amport village pub offers £100 voucher to get staff

The pub has turned to its customers and staff for help in a bid to recruit more workers

A village pub is offering a £100 voucher to people who connect them with anyone who goes on to take up a job.

The Hawk Inn, at Amport in Hampshire, has started the incentive after many of its furloughed staff found other jobs and its overseas workers returned home.

David Butcher of Upham Inns, who own the pub, said: "We are finding it tough - we've lost a lot of people so we are trying ways to entice people in."

The pub hopes workers will come forward for jobs ahead of its full re-opening.

David Butcher of Upham Inns said the village pub was finding it tough to recruit staff

The hospitality industry is reporting a shortage of workers post-lockdown - there are thought to be more than 180,000 vacancies.

'Massive hole'

Mr Butcher said: "It's been a horrific 16-17 months - we've been open, closed, opened, closed.

"A lot of staff from Europe have gone home and not come back, that's created a massive hole, so we've been trying all sorts of things to get people back into the business."

The pub said it had emailed its database of customers and opened the voucher offer up to its current staff if they introduce someone who subsequently takes a job.

Mr Butcher said he hoped the incentive would lead to recruiting customers' family members, and encourage its current staff to recommend their friends to apply for jobs.

The pub said it had also started a new apprenticeship scheme to help develop its workforce for the future.