Our client operates a busy independent restaurant in London, with a team of 20 staff including kitchen, bar, and front-of-house roles.
As trade picked up post-pandemic, the owner faced increasing pressure to manage staff costs, comply with payroll legislation, and keep on top of admin — all while focusing on delivering a high-quality dining experience. With no in-house HR or finance team, payroll had become a stressful, time-consuming task that risked costly errors and staff dissatisfaction.
OVERHAULING A DISJOINTED PAYROLL PROCESS
Built for Hospitality Rotas
The restaurant relied on a weekly rota that changed frequently based on bookings, seasonality, and staff availability. We implemented a payroll system specifically designed for shift-based hospitality businesses, allowing managers to upload approved hours directly from the rota without retyping or spreadsheet guesswork.
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Real-Time Holiday Pay and Transparency
Staff worked a mix of full-time, part-time, and zero-hour contracts — making holiday pay calculations a challenge. We introduced real-time holiday accrual and automated payslip breakdowns, giving employees visibility and reducing queries to management.
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Compliance with NMW and Pension Duties
Our solution included automated checks for National Minimum Wage compliance, even when tronc or unpaid breaks were factored in. We also ensured pension auto-enrolment duties were being met — something that had previously been missed for some part-time staff.
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Simple, Timely Payroll Processing
We took full ownership of monthly payroll processing, from timesheet validation to payslip delivery and HMRC submissions. Payroll reports were sent directly to the owner each month, including total labour costs, NI contributions, and departmental breakdowns.
THE OUTCOME
With a streamlined payroll process and a compliant, cloud-based system in place, the owner now spends far less time managing admin — and more time focusing on the restaurant and its customers.
Staff have greater visibility and confidence in their pay, holiday, and hours worked, while the risk of compliance issues has been eliminated. Most importantly, payday is no longer a source of stress — for the owner or the team.
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