New research has revealed that hospitality businesses offer the lowest hourly pay of any UK sector, as the industry continues to battle tightening financial margins.
This comes as the UKHospitality chief Kate Nicholls has criticised the government’s efforts to boost business growth through its recently announced industrial strategy, for failing to address the challenges facing the hospitality sector.
New analysis of ONS data from the business finance experts at money.co.uk business bank accounts reveals that tighter margins mean that hospitality firms are forced to offer staff hardly more than minimum wage.
Industries with the lowest hourly pay:
| Rank | Industry | Median weekly paid hours | Median gross annual pay | Median gross pay per hour |
| 1 | Accommodation and Food Service Activities | 26.0 | £16,800 | £12.39 |
| 2 | Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair Of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles | 37.4 | £25,560 | £13.11 |
| 3 | Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | 34.1 | £23,786 | £13.38 |
| 4 | Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 39.0 | £27,288 | £13.42 |
| 5 | Administrative and Support Service Activities | 37.0 | £26,803 | £13.89 |
The accommodation and food service activities sector makes up a significant part of the UK’s economy, with the hospitality sector’s annual economic contribution hitting £93bn in 2023 and estimated to increase by another £29bn by 2027.
Despite this, this industry’s workers have the lowest hourly pay rate. An average working week is around 26 hours long, and the average hourly pay is £12.39.
Businesses within the industry have faced a lot of financial hardship in recent years, with the COVID pandemic and National Insurance increases. This has made improving workers’ pay increasingly difficult while still making a profit, contributing to lower hourly rates in the sector.
The sector also ranked in the top 10 for the amount of overtime worked, with employees clocking an average of 2.8 hours of overtime per week.
Joe Phelan, money.co.uk business bank accounts expert, commented: “Attracting and retaining high-quality talent doesn’t just come down to salary – it’s also about meeting evolving expectations around working conditions. Today’s employees are more willing to walk away from roles that don’t offer a healthy work-life balance or prioritise wellbeing. That means businesses need to offer more than just pay; they must create environments with manageable hours, flexibility, and genuine support.
“When companies get this right, they typically see lower staff turnover, higher engagement, and more consistent productivity, all of which feed into more stable operations and healthier cash flow. And with greater financial predictability comes the ability to plan and grow with confidence.”
View the full report, including the methodology, here.
