Earned Wage Access for Restaurants: How It Works and Why It Matters

Earned Wage Access (EWA) allows restaurant employees to access a portion of their earned wages before their regular payday. Instead of waiting until the scheduled pay date, employees can access money they have already earned based on the hours they have worked.

For restaurants, earned wage access can provide employees with greater financial flexibility while supporting recruitment, employee satisfaction, and retention.

What Is Earned Wage Access for Restaurants?

Earned Wage Access is a payroll benefit that gives employees access to a portion of their earned pay before payday.

For example, if a restaurant employee works several shifts during the week and earns $500, an EWA program may allow that employee to access a portion of those earned wages before the normal payday. The remaining wages are processed through the restaurant's regular payroll.

EWA is sometimes called on demand pay, earned wage access, or early wage access.

How Does Earned Wage Access Work?

Earned Wage Access typically works by connecting an employer's payroll and time tracking information with an EWA solution.

The process generally follows these steps:

1. Employees work their scheduled hours.
2. Time and earnings data are recorded through the employer's payroll or workforce management system.
3. The EWA solution calculates available earned wages.
4. Employees choose whether to access some of their available earnings before payday.
5. The remaining wages are paid through the employer's normal payroll process.

For restaurants, integration with payroll and time tracking is especially important because employees may work different shifts, overtime hours, locations, and roles throughout a pay period.

Why Is Earned Wage Access Important for Restaurants?

Restaurants often operate with hourly, shift-based workforces. Employees may work varying schedules and depend on each paycheck to manage everyday expenses.

Traditional payroll schedules can create a gap between when an employee earns money and when they receive it. Earned Wage Access gives employees another option by allowing them to access a portion of their earned wages before the scheduled payday.

This can provide greater financial flexibility without requiring the restaurant to change its regular payroll schedule.

What Are the Benefits of Earned Wage Access for Restaurant Employees?

The primary benefit of EWA for employees is access to earned wages when they need them.

Potential benefits include:

• Greater flexibility between paydays
• Faster access to money for unexpected expenses
• More control over when earned wages are accessed
• A modern payroll benefit that can support the employee experience
• Reduced dependence on waiting for a traditional payday

For restaurant employees, where hours and schedules can vary from week to week, having more flexibility around earned pay can be particularly valuable.

How Can Earned Wage Access Help Restaurants With Employee Retention?

Employee retention is an ongoing challenge for the restaurant industry. Offering benefits that employees value can be one part of a broader strategy for creating a positive employee experience.

Earned Wage Access can give employees more flexibility over their pay without requiring restaurants to change their established payroll schedule.

It can also be included as part of a restaurant's overall compensation and benefits strategy when recruiting hourly employees.

EWA should not be viewed as a replacement for competitive wages, good management, predictable scheduling, or other factors that influence employee retention. Instead, it can complement those efforts by providing another form of financial flexibility.

Does Earned Wage Access Change a Restaurant's Payroll Process?

It can depending on how the EWA solution is implemented.

A well-integrated EWA solution should connect with payroll and timekeeping data so that employee earnings and available wages can be calculated accurately.

For restaurants, integration is especially important because payroll may involve hourly wages, overtime, tips, multiple locations, and changing schedules.

ProLiant's payroll platform supports earned wage access through ReadyPay Today, which uses payroll and time tracking information to determine employees' available earnings.

What Should Restaurants Look for in an Earned Wage Access Solution?

Restaurants evaluating an EWA solution should look for:

Payroll integration: The solution should work with the restaurant's payroll system and accurately use employee earnings data.

Time and attendance integration: Accurate hours are essential for determining earned wages.

Real-time or timely earnings calculations: Employees should have a clear understanding of how much they have earned and how much is available.

Security: Employee payroll and financial information should be protected through appropriate security practices.

Employee experience: The process for accessing earned wages should be simple and easy for employees to understand.

Employer controls: Restaurants should have appropriate control over program settings and payroll processes.

Restaurant-specific capabilities: Multi-location businesses should consider how the solution handles different locations, schedules, pay rates, and workforce structures.

Is Earned Wage Access the Same as Getting Paid Early?

Not exactly.

Traditional early payroll typically means an employer changes the timing of the entire payroll process. Earned Wage Access allows employees to access a portion of wages they have already earned while the employer maintains its normal payroll schedule.

The specific way an EWA program operates can vary by provider, so employers should review how available wages are calculated, how transactions are processed, and how the solution integrates with payroll.

Is Earned Wage Access a Good Fit for Restaurants?

Earned Wage Access may be worth considering for restaurants that want to provide employees with more flexibility around when they receive access to earned wages.

The decision should be based on factors such as the restaurant's workforce, payroll system, employee needs, integration requirements, program costs, and administrative processes.

For restaurants already using integrated payroll and workforce management technology, an EWA solution can be incorporated into the existing payroll ecosystem rather than creating an entirely separate payroll process.

Earned Wage Access for Restaurants From ProLiant

Restaurants need payroll technology that can keep up with a workforce that works across shifts, locations, schedules, and pay structures.

ProLiant's ReadyPay Today provides earned wage access by using payroll and time tracking information to calculate available employee earnings. ProLiant also offers integrated payroll, HR, workforce management, and restaurant technology designed to help businesses manage their workforce from one platform.

ReadyPay Today can give restaurant employees access to earned wages when they need them while allowing employers to maintain their regular payroll process.