Forecourt operators have been reducing staff hours and cutting back on recruitment, as they face cost pressures from April’s rise in national insurance contributions and the minimum wage.
One Top 50 Indie operator, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Forecourt Trader: “We have cut hours from each site, and have managed to save half the costs increase in the national minimum wage and national insurance.”
And he says that the measures have not yet led to any staff resignations or problems recruiting employees.
It comes as Office for National Statistics figures published on June 10 show the highest rates of unemployment in nearly four years.
The rate of unemployment jumped to 4.6% in the three months to April, from 4.5 per cent in the three months to March. Meanwhile, vacancies tumbled 63,000 to 736,000 in the three months to May.
Tom Buckley, general manager at the Pricewatch Group, which operates five forecourts in Sussex, says the business also acted to counter the rise in business costs.
“We trimmed our hours right back before the national insurance and minimum wage increase came in, so we haven’t made any more staff cuts, but we are running leaner than 2024,” he says.
The business continues to replace shop staff, but other roles are being absorbed into the workloads of other employees or outsourced, says Buckley.
Despite the increased levels of unemployment, finding good staff is a “relentless task”, says Buckley. “We get plenty applications, but over 50% don’t turn up for the interviews,” he says.
Retaining staff is also a challenge, which has led Pricewatch Group to offer incentives to some employees. “We pay slightly over the minimum for cashiers and more for team leaders and managers, have a bonus plan for managers in place, and try to operate a good business with a good atmosphere so people want to stay,” he says.
Meanwhile, Sewell On The Go says its staff numbers have reduced through natural wastage. “Our overall headcount on a like-for-like basis has come down slightly, but it’s not been an overt strategy,” says managing director Patrick Sewell.
“Recruitment and retention are in a reasonably good place for us,” he says. “Our retention statistic, year to date, is 88%. We feel we have a strong package and culture that helps to keep people. And in turn, we utilise a lot of those key messages to attract new recruits.”
Oliver Blake, operations director at Oasis Services, a single site business in Long Riston, Hull, which employs 18 staff, says he continues to look at ways to be more efficient with his staff rota.
“It has reached a point where we are looking at how we can reduce staffing hours and increase productivity of staff. Utilising things such as hybrid tills should help us do this,” he says.
But with a high number of people unemployed finding staff is not a problem for the business. “We have no problems recruiting at all when someone leaves as there are plenty of people in our area looking for work,” he says.
