Manager of popular tearoom near Worksop which almost went under during lockdown left 'shocked' at lack of applicants for vacant jobs

The Old School Tearooms, in Carburton needs a cook and two front of staff/baristas but management have been shocked at the lack of response to the advertised jobs at a time when many staff in the hospitality sector are out of work.

Tearoom manager Kelly Tizzard said job adverts for positions at the tearoom usually attracted 80 to 100 applicants but the current roles have only had up to four applicants each.

She said: “At first we put it down to furlough still being in place but then we just couldn’t really understand the lack of response.

"I don’t know if people have just got used to being at home and have looked for jobs that allow them that flexibility of working from home or if people are just used to doing things so differently as a result of lockdown, we just don’t know.

"We recently went to Cornwall and found in a lot of hospitality places they were experiencing the same issues with lack of staff, it seems to be an issue for the hospitality trade across the country.

"Business is really picking up again for us, our customer base has returned but it’s just a different story when it comes to staffing.

"It’s really affecting us as there is more pressure on our staff members we do have and is affecting how we operate.”

On certain days the tearoom has been forced to reduce capacity and on occasion closed early due to continued staff shortages.

In the run up to the first national lockdown staff at the tearoom had already started to notice a decline in business and early on in the pandemic questioned whether they would be able to stay afloat.

Kelly said: “When Covid first began we were really struggling as I think people were very fearful to be out and about.

"We had a real decline in customers but we wanted to remain open to allow staff to continue to work and be there for the customers who were still coming in, but everyday we opened we were operating at a loss.

"There were times early on in that first lockdown when we were closed and thought about throwing in the towel but the grants certainly helped, we wouldn’t have been able to continue if it wasn’t for that.”

After navigating several lockdown periods and having to deal with costly renovation work due to a collapsed ceiling in May, Kelly who runs the tearoom for her mother-in-law and owner Maryse Lambley is now hoping staffing issues will not affect their long term future.

For more information on the jobs please contact [email protected] or contact Kelly on 01623 27289.