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Wages stagnate for hospitality

The KAM report, in conjunction with HJUK and Access Group, spoke to 570 hospitality employees on the topics of salary trends, job satisfaction, employee benefits and the impact of technology on the workforce.

This year’s results suggest a squeeze in the lower-level salaries. The sector has seen an increase in the percentage of workers earning less than £30,000 for the second consecutive year, with the total number now representing up to nearly half of all employees surveyed.

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According to the figures, 30% of employees fell into this category in 2023. The number then rises to 37% in 2024 and 46% in 2025. Among full-time employees, early-career professionals with between one and three years of experience – a demographic that hospitality over-indexes in – are most affected. Unfortunately, the gender pay gap also persists, with men still earning more than women industry-wide.

While this trend is disappointing, it’s “not entirely unexpected”, Anthony Tattersall, general manager for hospitality at Access Group, said.

He continued: “The sector is under immense pressure, especially with impending changes to National Insurance Contributions and the Minimum Wage. In this environment, it’s understandable that employee satisfaction may not be the top priority as operators wrestle how to manage costs.”

Tattersall went on to highlight the financial cost of failing to sufficiently reward and retain staff.

In fact, he said: “Replacing a single employee in a UK hospitality business can cost thousands of pounds. That’s a significant saving if you can retain your staff and ensure they’re performing at their best.”

One place to start, he suggests, is technology. This year’s survey reveals that just 48% of employees feel they’ve received sufficient training to fully qualify for their roles, while only 66% say that technology has made their work lives easier or much easier. Furthermore, only 61% report being happy in their current role, highlighting considerable room for improvement, particularly in areas such as training and technology.

The report also highlighted other areas of change impacting the sector. It found that while the life/work balance ratio has dramatically improved since pre-Covid, additional working hours are still a problem. In 2023, 43% of employees worked over eight extra hours weekly. This figure dropped to 40% in 2024, but is back up to 47% in 2025, with a marked rise in those exceeding over 16 extra hours. Additionally, these additional hours are very often unpaid.

The industry therefore “must improve at rewarding our teams fairly and transparently”, the report concluded. It highlighted a number of key ways to do this via employee benefits beyond salary. They include holiday entitlement, training and development, flexible hours, food and dining discounts, bonuses and tips, well-being initiatives and remote work opportunities.

• hospitality
• staff
• workers
• retention
• KAM
• salary
• employee satisfaction
• employee benefits