If there’s one industry that has taken the full force of this devastating pandemic, then it’s the hospitality sector. Before Hastee, back in 2003, I founded a company called Brightsparks, which went on to employ over 20,000 people to work in hospitality and events. Now serving as a non-exec director, I have seen first hand just how challenging the past 15 months have been for the industry as a whole. There is no doubt that Covid-19 has accelerated the mental, physical and financial stress on hospitality workers and business owners, meaning the repercussions of ‘financial long-Covid’ are just starting to take hold.

This has been further highlighted in a recent report* which found a staggering 41 per cent of hospitality workers have already left the sector altogether because of instability and financial challenges, which is resulting in widespread staff shortages. While the figures are undoubtedly stark, the same research also positively revealed that 60 per cent of respondents would consider returning to the hospitality sector in the future if there is an incentive for them to do so. This has led to many restaurant groups already offering vast sums of money in a bid to get people back to work.

Even before the pandemic, one of the biggest trends I noticed when establishing Brightsparks was employees were struggling to simply get through the month financially, turning down work because they couldn’t even afford to travel. Not having £20 today was stopping them from earning £100 tomorrow. Even if they don’t need that £20 today, it’s very motivating to have the control and flexibility over when you get paid. This was one of the key reasons why I set-up Hastee, as I wanted to find a way to combat this problem and give workers more flexibility and provide easier access to their pay. So while I can’t provide answers for all the serious challenges mentioned above, I do believe, at a time when instability remains high, the fintech sector can play a positive role in helping to attract workers back to the hospitality sector.

Whether it’s changing the way employees access their pay, or providing support through financial education and management tools, employers can adopt low-cost or even free fintech technology to give workers more flexibility at a time they really need it. According to a study we conducted recently, 81 per cent of workers take pay frequency into account when looking for new jobs. That could be the difference between a potential employee applying for a role in a pub or hotel, or looking at jobs in completely different sectors. It could also be pivotal to retaining current staff in the months ahead; our same research also found 52 per cent of workers are more likely to stay with a job that offers flexible pay.

One way businesses can incentivise staff is to offer an ‘Earnings on Demand’ (EoD) payment model. This gives employees the chance to access a portion of their monthly pay in real-time, and provides them with greater flexibility and liquidity to navigate financially challenging times. At Hastee, we work with many hospitality businesses including Mitchells & Butlers, The Vurger Co. and Brewhouse & Kitchen. All three organisations had requests from staff for more flexible access to their pay, so we’ve been able to support them all by offering tools that positively affect their employees’ liquidity. The technology has also meant staff can access their pay flexibly and discreetly without feeling any sort of embarrassment.

Yet, while Earnings on Demand can provide a real lifeline to ensure a worker doesn’t need to rely on high-cost credit, it is also just one way employers can support. There is also potential for them to go further and provide their employees with better financial management tools, such as savings, rewards and budgeting tools. Very recently, we signed an exclusive partnership with nudge, which gives Hastee users access to its financial education and money management tools within the Hastee app. This can help workers better understand their finances and empower them to make decisions that ultimately make their money go further.

At a challenging time for both business and workers, if the sector can take advantage of some of the cost-effective fintech solutions available to them, not only could this help re-attract and retain key talent, but it could also bring longer-term benefits to the financial health of their workforces.

*CV-Library