The changing future of hospitality

15/11/2018

At our hospitality update seminar last week, clients heard how to remain legal, fair and retain their workforce. If you missed it – or you made it and would like a refresher – here’s a summary of what we covered.

WMT Partner and Managing Director of WMT Troncmaster Services, Peter Davies, started the proceedings with an update on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the handling of tips. Common NMW pitfalls included failure to record actual hours worked, staff uniforms and payment for trial shifts. However, the Prime Minister’s recent announcement on tipping practices, and the uncertainty it has caused took centre stage.

Our recently released ‘Good Practice Principles’ document aims to clarify some of the grey areas around this topic and can be downloaded from our website by clicking below. This should be read in conjunction with HOSPAs practical guide which sets out the legal and compliance issues, also available below.

Brexit and workforce supply were next on the agenda. UK Hospitality’s, John Guthrie, concentrated on employment cost, workforce supply and skills development. With people at the heart of most hospitality businesses, John identified that the majority of those in the room relied on a workforce comprising of at least 60% European nationals. With Brexit looming, this could be set to change with the appeal of working in the UK fast diminishing – businesses will need to be ready to react.

After a short interlude we were joined by Jeremy King of Corbin and King, the operator behind well-known establishments such as The Wolseley, The Delaunay and many more iconic London eateries. Jeremy gave his view on the industry now and how he sees it in the future, as well as interesting insight into how Corbin and King recruit and retain their own workforce.  Most notably the in-depth induction and training all their staff receive and their latest initiative to employ people in their 50s and older.

Alongside thought-provoking presentations from our three speakers and the opportunity to network with other hospitality operators, clients were able to meet members of the wider WMT hospitality team.

The addition of our London office earlier this year, headed up by Lauren Kaswell, has strengthened our offering to restaurant, bar and hotel businesses. We’re now well equipped to support operators with everything from their financial management and annual reporting to their strategic development and exit planning. To find out more about the services we offer, please click below:

Outsourced Finance Function
Pre-opening services
Tronc schemes and Troncmaster services
Payroll and employment
Tax advise
Audit services
Business consulting

If there are any topics you would like to see covered in our future events, please let us know by emailing charlotte.read@wmtllp.com

Peter Davies also used the opportunity to showcase our new ‘Troncbox’ app. Developed by us, with our clients in mind, Troncbox will offer our clients a streamlined and secure way of submitting their tronc data for accurate efficient tronc processing. The software is currently being rolled out to select clients, if you would like to find out more please email rachael.hunt@wmtllp.com.

To discuss how we can help your hospitality business contact Peter Davies