Restaurant Team Management

Running a tight 40-seat team without chaos

Team management is where independent restaurants silently leak money: uncounted overtime, staff poking around parts of the system they shouldn't, shift handover confusion. Chef7 solves this with three integrated components.

Component 1 — Role-based permissions

Every team member gets a profile with strictly scoped access:

• Head chef: full access to stock, recipe cards, cost reports.
• Kitchen porter / commis: can mark ingredients used. No pricing, no margins.
• Front of house: orders, table management, takeaway. No stock or cost visibility.
• Manager: everything except changing the permission matrix itself.
• Owner: full access, including permission edits and data export.

Component 2 — PIN attendance (no biometric data)

Each team member has a 4-digit PIN. On arrival, they enter it on the tablet: clock in recorded. On leaving, same again: clock out. Zero biometric data — fully UK GDPR compliant, no worker privacy concerns. Records export to CSV for payroll.

Automatic monthly reports: hours worked per team member, overtime, absences, holidays. Integrates with PAYE payroll software and Sage.

Component 3 — Full audit log

Every action in the system is recorded: who changed the sea bass price, who voided that table without payment, who adjusted stock counts. If you suspect theft or systematic errors, the owner pulls up the audit log filtered by staff profile.

Illustrative example

In a restaurant with role-based permissions and an active audit log, any improper staff-discount application or table void without payment is recorded with author, timestamp and affected table. When the owner suspects something is off, they filter the log by staff profile — the staff conversation can now be grounded in facts rather than hunches.

Visual shift roster, automatic alerts if a scheduled team member hasn't clocked in within 15 minutes, shift-scoped internal chat. All in the same system, no extra apps needed.

Frequently asked questions (UK / Europe)

Does the PIN clock-in meet the UK Working Time Regulations 1998 record-keeping requirements?

Yes. The Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) require employers to keep adequate records to show whether the 48-hour weekly working time limit is complied with. The Chef7 PIN log records date, time and operator identifier, exportable to CSV/Excel for inclusion in the worker's personnel file. With no biometric data captured, you avoid the heightened obligations of UK GDPR Article 9 special category processing.

How does it integrate with PAYE payroll and HMRC reporting?

The system exports a monthly summary per team member (regular hours, overtime, absences, holidays) in CSV/Excel ready for your bookkeeper. For self-employed crew under IR35, the report flags worker status separately so off-payroll engagements are not mixed with employed staff.

Can I use it for several venues with crew moving between them?

Yes, in the Multi plan. A team member can belong to multiple venues with the same PIN; hours worked at each venue add up in the monthly individual report, with the venue identifier per shift — useful for groups with sites across London, Manchester or Bristol where chefs and managers float.

Available in English with EN/EU support?

Yes. Interface, invoices and documentation in English. Email support in CET business hours, EU hosting (Ireland), GDPR-compliant.

Real industry statistics

In the UK, the ONS (Hospitality industry data, 2024) puts the accommodation and food services sector at over 1.7 million jobs. Sector turnover (rotation) rates are notoriously high (30-40% annually per UKHospitality reports), so team-management tools that cut onboarding time and clarify responsibilities pay back quickly. Eurofound (Hospitality workforce report, 2023) found that digital time-tracking reduces labour disputes by around 40% on average.

Sources: ONS UK — Hospitality industry data (2024) · UKHospitality — UK Hospitality Workforce Report (2024) · Eurofound — Hospitality workforce report (2023).