On-trade staff ‘working 28 additional hours over Christmas’

UK hospitality sector employees will work an average of 28 hours of overtime during the Christmas period, according to a study commissioned by drinks distributor Matthew Clark.

Around 10% of bartenders, waiters, hotel staff and chefs will get by on just three or four hours’ sleep a night during the busy Christmas period, according to Matthew Clark

The study conducted by Vital Statistics on behalf of Matthew Clark also revealed that bartenders, waiters, hotel staff and chefs typically will run on an average of five to six hours sleep over Christmas – two or three hours fewer than recommended by health experts.

Moreover, 64% of those surveyed said that they “very regularly” miss out on sleep, especially so over the festive period (defined as the whole month of December), while just under 10% get by on just three to four hours’ sleep.

The study sampled 1,000 hospitality staff between 14 November and 28 November 2016.

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“As a regional manager in London for the Pubs of Distinction group, I’m no stranger to long and sometimes anti-social hours – and never more so than at Christmas, where I often miss out on parties and gatherings with my friends and family,” said Ollie Sheridan, regional manager of Pubs of Distinction, a key Matthew Clark customer.

“Despite this, it is the best time of the year to work too – the pubs are always busy and buzzing, and customers are in good spirits. Of course, when we do close, as staff it doesn’t end there – we need to tidy up, cash up, and place our orders.

“As I carry out regular stock audits on each site, having this information to hand 24/7 saves me quite a lot of time when compared to sifting through piles of invoices looking for that missing bottle of vodka! I will be asking Santa for an extra few hours’ sleep this year!”

Matthew Clark is aiming to help overworked on-trade staff with its Matthew Clark Live online ordering platform, which it claims cuts the time required to place drinks order by half.

The speedy online ordering service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any online device.

Matthew Clark has found that 36% of its customers place orders outside normal office hours. Its online ordering service, with its 24/7 availability, accessibility across multiple devices and speedy repeat ordering mechanic, means that customers can manage their ordering at their convenience. The drinks distributor says that service enables customers to place orders twice as quickly as the offline process.

“Christmas is a very busy time of the year for the hospitality industry and striking a work-life balance is a huge challenge,” Matthew Clark marketing director Geoff Brown said.

“The festive period is prime time for business and to make the most of friends and family, so we want to help our customers take back some to time to spend with loved ones – or just catching up on sleep. Encouraging our customers to place their orders online is just one of the ways we’re helping them save time this Christmas.”