It’s a problem the «Downton Abbey» butler might have sympathized with.
Highclere Castle in the south of England, where the early 20th century drama about the lives of aristocrats and their servants was filmed, is facing a severe staff shortage.
The reason is a shortage of workers from the European Union, which forced owner Fiona Carnarvon to suspend the castle’s core business of holding larger weddings at the site of the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning show.
“We have stopped being able to offer weddings of any substantial size because of Brexit,” said Carnarvon, a Countess of Highclere with her husband, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon.
“There are no staff,” he said, speaking from the sitting room of the Victorian castle that sits on a 5,000-acre estate.
I used to host about 25 weddings with 100+ guests per season. Weddings with around 20 guests are still possible, but they are a much smaller part of a business that the owners say can cost several thousand pounds a day.
Revenue from other parts of Highclere’s business, such as its gift shop, the house open to the public during the summer months, has also fallen, which Carnarvon says reflects not just Brexit, but also the impact on the industry. Covid-19 hotel and cost. -life crisis.
Its staffing challenges in particular illustrate the still-unfolding impacts of Brexit on Britain’s labor market three years after Britain’s departure from the European Union, its biggest trading partner.
A vital workforce of EU students attending university in Britain who were available to work during weddings is no longer available, Carnarvon said.
“When we go to our regular agencies and try to find people, they’re not there,” he said. «If we ask for 10, three may appear… there is no one we haven’t asked.»
The number of EU students admitted to British universities fell 50% in 2021, and applications fell 40%, partly due to the uncertainty created by Brexit, the UCAS university admissions service said last year.
Since leaving the European Union, Britain has faced multi-stage worker shortages in areas including manufacturing, construction and logistics.
With Britain still boasting higher employment rates and lower unemployment than most EU countries, business groups have pressured the government to relax post-Brexit immigration rules.
Britain has relaxed eligibility rules for work visas in a variety of professions, but the list does not include the hospitality sector.
His prime minister, Rishi Sunak, a Brexiteer, also opposed calls by businesses to liberalize immigration to address labor shortages, saying withdrawal from the bloc had helped provide more flexibility in business regulation and ensure «proper control» of the country’s borders.
Outside Highclere Castle, in the grounds designed by 18th-century landscape architect Capability Brown, dozens of chairs and a few tables lie stacked and unused.
They will not be used during the spring either, as Highclere has closed afternoon teas it offered to the public, Carnarvon said, due to a lack of staff.
The Highclere gift shop has also stopped shipping to EU countries, around a third of the shop’s total business, due to increased postage costs and paperwork after leaving the EU, Carnarvon said.
Other trade on the Highclere estate, such as the export of horse feed, has also fallen due to high paperwork and legal fees, it added.
“We are wrapped in red tape now in every part of our business,” he said.
Weighed down by falling revenue and higher costs amid double-digit inflation, Highclere expects to nearly break even this year, compared with profitable years before Brexit and the pandemic, Carnarvon said. Weddings accounted for 40% of the overall business at its peak.
In some ways, Highclere Castle’s fortunes mirror the cutbacks of «Downton Abbey,» which the show depicts as losing a number of staff over the years, especially as World War I sapped the influence of the English aristocracy. .
But while weddings have declined, Carnarvon is optimistic about new sources of revenue, such as a 35-pound ($42) bottle of gin, which he says is gaining ground in the United States.
“It’s starting, it’s nascent, but it’s a business that using our brand can generate income to support us hopefully in the future,” he said.