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The UK Door Security Association (UKDSA) has raised concerns that six in 10 late night/pub/bars/club door supervisor positions are at risk of not being filled upon reopening later this year.
The research follows a recent security business survey from door supervisors which estimated that 35% of the March 2020 workforce began working in other areas of security or in other industries and “aren’t sure if they will return” to their previous positions.
Although there have been over 14,000 applications and renewals submitted each month to the Security Industry Authority (SIA), new door supervisor SIA Licence applications in the past 12 months are “significantly down” from previous years.
The UKDSA is calling on the SIA to postpone its plans to introduce additional training and costs, which are due to come into effect in April 2021. Additionally the trade body is asking for a reduction in the current costs of new door supervisor licences and renewals, so that the sector will be able to meet the demand surge expected for the relaxation of restrictions.
A spokesperson for the UKDSA commented: “The pandemic has resulted in a large-scale permanent displacement of door supervisors to different roles within the private security industry and into other industries. Brexit may also have had an impact with members reporting a number of European staff have returned to their home countries.”
Michael Kill, CEO for The Night Time Industries Association, added: “We rely heavily on licensed door supervisors to keep our staff and customers safe. Additional barriers will present further issues, limiting businesses from opening if they are reliant on this resource as part of their licensing conditions.
“This will need a government intervention to ensure that the industry has the ability to provide enough staff. While the training is welcomed, it is not timely given the current economic situation across most of the sector, and consideration needs to be given to it being pushed back to 2022.”
