Costs
The cost of employing people has changed. So will hospitality staffing.
Wages, National Insurance and pensions have reshaped the maths of every rota.
6 October 2026 · 2 min read
The issue
Employment costs in hospitality have risen sharply in a short space of time. For many operators, labour is now the cost they watch most closely, week to week.
What the data says
The Morning Advertiser's Labour Report found 95% of operators said rising wage costs had impacted their business, and 59% said they had stopped recruiting new staff entirely as a result of higher employment costs.
Tim Skinner, licensee at the Devonshire Arms in Marylebone, told The MA his labour costs had risen around 30% over five years.
What the industry is saying
Skinner described labour as the biggest controllable cost on a weekly basis.
What it means for hospitality
None of this makes permanent employees less valuable. Good permanent teams are the heart of good venues. But it does mean operators are rethinking how the rest of the rota is filled - with more part-time, flexible and varied hours.
What it could mean for flexible staffing
Flexible cover lets a business pay for the hours it actually needs, when it needs them. On FLEXSHFT, hours are confirmed by the professional, approved by the business and paid through the platform, so the cost of each SHFT is clear.
