Flexing seasonal workforce with confidence

The challenge

A logistics operator trebles its workforce for four months of the year. The peak is predictable; the compliance exposure that comes with hiring several hundred people quickly is what was not being managed.

In previous years, right-to-work checks were completed late and holiday pay accrual was calculated by hand.

What we put in place

• Pre-season onboarding, so checks were complete before the first shift rather than during week one.
• Holiday pay accrued and shown on every payslip, removing the year-end reconciliation entirely.
• Weekly payroll with same-day payments, which materially improved return rates the following season.
• A clean off-boarding step, so a worker who does not return is not left on an active list.

The outcome

The operator hit its peak headcount two weeks earlier than the previous year, with every worker checked before starting.

Roughly half of the peak workforce returned the following season, which cut recruitment spend more than any process change did.

Why it transfers

A seasonal peak is a known date. Almost everything that goes wrong around it goes wrong because the work was started when the peak arrived rather than before it.