Per Sandberg is neither impressed nor satisfied with the measures the government came up with on Tuesday night to compensate the nightlife industry.
Former FrP leader Per Sandberg is now making a living as a sole owner in Halden after he resigned as national politician in 2018. To Nettavisen he says that the whole situation is sad and that he and his partner Bahareh Letnes now for the first time in his two years as Bare owners probably have to lay off employees.
– We have 2.5 full-time employees with us and they have called us all day and wondered what is happening, Sandberg says to Nettavisen late Tuesday night.
One of the dilemmas Sandberg and Letnes are now torn between is that it is much more expensive to run a bar if you have to have extra employees at work to ensure that the infection control rules are kept. At the same time, the nightlife industry makes less money, both because the bar closes at noon, but also because fewer people go out when the infection pressure is high and the restrictions are many.
– For us, it means one and a half man-years extra, so then we rather lay off the employees and try to do the whole job ourselves. Then we will see if we do not have to shut down completely in the end, says Sandberg.
Proud
Laying off employees is a long way off for the bare owner.
– We have employees we are incredibly proud of, they have worked hard to that degree and we feel very much to take them into account. The leave regulations are important to us. I am excited about how the compensation scheme will be, even though I personally am not a supporter of state compensation schemes. It would have been much better if you removed all the VAT and cut out the employer’s tax instead of doing these alms from the state, says Sandberg who last year announced the transition from FrP to the Liberals.
Sandberg says that he and Bahareh Letnes will manage through a new closure with new restrictions on nightlife. In addition to the bar, they also run part of the Grand Hotel in Halden, as well as a restaurant that is open for events.
– If the government really means something with what they say about the service industry, they must create predictability. Then they should remove the employer’s tax and remove the VAT for the last quarter of 2021 and the whole of next year. Then the uncertainty would have been released and it would have been the same for everyone, Sandberg believes.
The bar owner says he and Letnes are now prepared to stay open as long as possible and stand on extra much themselves.
– Bahareh has worked an average of 15-16 hours every day. It gives results, but it costs over time, says Sandberg.
Sandberg says the nightlife industry has the largest turnover between half past ten and half past two at night, so when the serving must now end at midnight, the most lucrative hours in the most lucrative month for the country’s bar and pub owners end.
– It is significantly worse for those with larger events than us. We lost around one and a half million in turnover on canceled Christmas dinners last year, Sandberg says to Nettavisen.
Must follow up
He now hopes that the government will follow up on the industries affected by the new coronary restrictions.
– The Minister of Finance did not mention the leave regulations tonight. The problem for us is not sick employees. We have skilled employees that we also want when this is over. It has been tiring for everyone to recruit people, so now I hope that we get in place good, clear and simple leave rules so that we can keep the employees a little in business, is Sandberg’s clear message.
His and many others’ great fear is that the employees will find jobs in other industries and not come back when society opens up again for you to have a pint or a drink out in the late hours of the night.
– We have struggled all year to get people hired, we are not alone in that, bare owner Sandberg tells Nettavisen.
14 question marks
He is also not impressed by what the government said about the compensation scheme for the industries that are now losing large sums due to new strict restrictions.
– A little was said about the compensation scheme, but I am left with 14 question marks. I do not think the government is catching up. It was said that one should look at turnover figures, but it will be a bit of a task for the ministry. In 2019, we had 0 in turnover. In December last year, we had restrictions that caused sales to fall sharply. Nothing is comparable here. I’m excited about how they will come up with measures that hit. I fear it will be a bit like sticking your finger in the air and seeing where the wind blows, Sandberg rages and adds:
– One must stop looking at the turnover figures for 2019, those who established themselves in 2020 and 2021 must also be included. The companies that have established themselves during the pandemic have in fact helped to alleviate the economic crisis. Bahareh and I are proud that we were so stupid and start up in 2020, we have been a counterweight in the crisis.
–
