AVA chief executive, David Llewellyn
The UK vending industry is calling on the UK government for renewed and further support to help vending operators and their direct supply chain to survive the pandemic as research shows one in five jobs in the sector could be at risk.
The Automatic Vending Association (AVA), the trade body representing the vending industry in the UK, called for urgent support for operators to continue their work, including an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for hospitality businesses – and that plea has been answered. In fact, the
Chancellor announced on 5 November that the CJRS is to be extended right through to 3 March 2021.
The next task is to ensure that vending, as part of the hospitality and foodservice industry, is expressly included in the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) and Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) schemes.
The AVA has also asked the Government to consider an additional financial grant to cover percentage of lost revenue during the crisis or the removal of
Employers NI and employee pensions payments, with an increased contribution towards paying people to work.
Since the initial lockdown in March, vending operator have suffered a devastating impact on business. As people were directed to work from home where they could, turnover plummeted to an average of 34% of its previous level and over 60% of the workforce were furloughed. This could very easily be the same during this new lockdown period.
AVA’s chief executive, David Llewellyn said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the hospitality industry, but it is vital that Vending is not forgotten. The impact may not be as immediately obvious on Out of Home and Foodservice industries such as Vending, but as the government advises people to stay at home and places more restrictions on movement, without support, our industry will be damaged further.
“We are calling for urgent support from the Government to help vending companies and the direct supply chain, to ensure that we can navigate this pandemic and our members can continue to operate throughout, and into the future.”
To read the full letter the Automatic Vending Association has addressed to the UK Government, visit: https://www.the-ava.com/news/ava-letter-to-the-chancellor/
