Around 25,000 hospitality jobs will be at risk unless the two metre social distancing rule is scrapped, according to trading experts.
Research has found nearly 90% of pubs believe it will not be financially viable to open if the restriction remains in place.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the Scottish Beer & Pub Association, told the Daily Record: “Keeping a two-metre rule in place simply does not make financial sense and the fall out will see the loss of thousands of jobs affecting both the Scottish economy and local communities in the process.”
The two metre rule is a key part of the Scottish Government’s strategy to stop the spread of covid-19 – with businesses preparing to introduce new social distancing rules in time for reopening.
Yesterday Ardnamurchan on Hope Street revealed it has been reconfigured to accommodate guidelines.
Neil and Julie Douglas, who run the business, have created 21 unique private dining and drinking pods with around a third of seating removed.
However, businesses believe economic recovery for the industry at large is dependent on the distance being reduced.
They fear two metres will hamper the ability of firms to get enough customers into shops, pubs and restaurants.
Ministers have said they expect the tourist sector to reopen on July 15th, but at this stage they are backing two metres.
No international consensus exists, with Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Greece backing a 1.5 metre rule.
France, Denmark, China and Singapore apply a one metre rule, and the UK Government is reviewing the distance.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has taken a cautious approach and Government’s advisers have said the evidence does not support a change.
The survey, conducted by the Scottish Beer & Pub Association (SPBA) and other members of the licensed trade, included 318 pubs.
According to the findings, 12.8% of pubs believe it is financially viable to open at 2-metres, whereas the figure rises to 82% for one metre.
The SBPA estimates that an average of 52.59% of staff in the pub sector are expected to be made redundant if two metres is retained - the equivalent of 23,648 jobs in Scotland.
Kevin McGee from the Athletic Arms in Edinburgh said: “I’m bored silly, I’m a people person and can’t wait to open the doors. If it’s 2-metres it’ll most likely be me working with one other on reduced trading hours. In contrast, a 1-metre difference and we can get more staff off furlough, trade longer, start to pay off some bills and support the local community again.”
McClarkin said: “The results make for stark reading. Not only will 87 per cent of those surveyed be unable to open, those that can trade at the two-metre mark will potentially have to let 52 per cent of staff go. This would lead to over 23,600 jobs losses in our sector alone."
