Compliance Management for Catering Operations
Whether you are managing contract sites or delivering events, keep food safety consistent with digital compliance tools.
The Challenge
Catering operations face unique compliance challenges that fixed-location restaurants never encounter. Food must be prepared in one location and served safely at another - sometimes hours later in a temporary kitchen you have never used before. Cold chain management during transport, event-specific risk assessments for unfamiliar venues, and coordinating variable teams of casual staff across multiple simultaneous events create a compliance nightmare. Paper-based systems cannot keep up when your team is setting up in a field, a stately home, or a corporate boardroom - and one allergen error at a wedding can destroy your reputation overnight.
How Assistant Manager Solves Catering Compliance
Each module is designed to address the specific challenges catering businesses face every day.
Checklist Management
Catering operations span multiple locations in a single day - from production kitchen to transport to venue setup to service to breakdown. Each transition is a potential compliance gap that fixed-location restaurants never face
The Problems
Why This Matters for Catering
- Food transport temperatures are not documented properly - drivers assume the hot boxes are working but nobody verifies temperatures at departure, during transit, or on arrival
Food arrives at an event outside safe temperature ranges, creating a choice between serving potentially unsafe food or disappointing the client with missing dishes
- Temporary kitchen setups at event venues lack systematic safety verification - staff assume equipment works without checking gas connections, electrical safety, or hygiene conditions
Equipment failures, safety incidents, or hygiene issues emerge mid-event when it is too late to fix them properly
- Post-event breakdown and cleaning lacks documentation - equipment is loaded back into vans without verification that everything is clean, accounted for, and properly stored
Cross-contamination risks carry from one event to the next, equipment goes missing, and the next event starts with dirty or incomplete kit
The Solution
How Checklist Management Helps
Mobile checklists for every stage of catering operations - production kitchen prep, transport loading with temperature verification, venue setup checks, service monitoring, and post-event breakdown with photo evidence
Every touchpoint in the catering chain is documented with timestamps and evidence, temperatures are verified at each handover, and equipment is tracked from kitchen to venue and back
Use Cases:
- • Production kitchen batch preparation checklists with cooling verification
- • Transport loading checks with departure temperature logging
- • In-transit temperature monitoring for long journeys
- • Venue arrival checks with equipment inventory verification
- • Temporary kitchen setup safety inspections
- • Pre-service final temperature checks before serving
- • Post-event breakdown and cleaning verification with photos
Feature Screenshot
Checklist Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Food transport temperatures are not documented properly - drivers assume the hot boxes are working but nobody verifies temperatures at departure, during transit, or on arrival
Real Scenario
"A wedding breakfast arrives at the venue. The beef was loaded at 75C but sat in traffic for 90 minutes. Nobody checked the temperature on arrival - it is now 58C. The head chef has to decide whether to serve it or tell the bride there is no main course."
Example 2: Temporary kitchen setups at event venues lack systematic safety verification - staff assume equipment works without checking gas connections, electrical safety, or hygiene conditions
Real Scenario
"The team sets up for a 300-person corporate gala. Two hours before service, they discover the venue refrigeration unit is not working - but they have already loaded it with prepared desserts. There is no record of who checked the equipment on arrival because nobody did."
Example 3: Post-event breakdown and cleaning lacks documentation - equipment is loaded back into vans without verification that everything is clean, accounted for, and properly stored
Real Scenario
"Monday morning, the team prepares for a corporate lunch. They discover the serving equipment from Saturday event is still dirty in the van, a gastronorm is missing, and nobody knows what happened. The weekend staff have already gone home."
Employee Scheduling
Catering relies heavily on casual and agency staff who work multiple employers. Unlike fixed-location restaurants with regular shifts, every event is a new staffing puzzle with different requirements and different people
The Problems
Why This Matters for Catering
- Event staffing relies on casual workers who may or may not be available, leading to last-minute scrambles to fill shifts and uncertainty about who is actually coming
Events are understaffed because confirmed casuals do not show up, or overstaffed because managers over-book expecting no-shows - destroying margins either way
- Staff are assigned to events without verification that they have the required food hygiene certificates, allergen training, or event-specific briefings
Uncertified staff handle food at events, creating serious liability if something goes wrong - and you discover the gap only when the client or EHO asks for documentation
The Solution
How Employee Scheduling Helps
Event-based scheduling with casual worker availability management, automatic certification checking before staff can be assigned to events, and real-time confirmation tracking
Staff availability is confirmed before final schedules are published, only certified staff are assigned to food-handling roles, and you know exactly who is coming to each event - not who might come
Use Cases:
- • Event-based shift creation with role requirements
- • Casual worker availability requests and confirmations
- • Food hygiene certification checking before assignment
- • Event briefing acknowledgment tracking
- • Last-minute shift cover with qualified staff alerts
- • Multi-event coordination for busy weekends
- • Travel time calculation between consecutive events
Feature Screenshot
Employee Scheduling
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Event staffing relies on casual workers who may or may not be available, leading to last-minute scrambles to fill shifts and uncertainty about who is actually coming
Real Scenario
"Saturday wedding has 12 casual staff confirmed. By Friday evening, three have texted to cancel. The operations manager spends the night calling everyone in the database, finally getting cover at 11pm - but now they are paying premium rates for emergency staff."
Example 2: Staff are assigned to events without verification that they have the required food hygiene certificates, allergen training, or event-specific briefings
Real Scenario
"A corporate client health and safety team asks for food hygiene certificates for all staff working their annual conference. You discover two of your casual servers never completed their Level 2 - they have been working events for three months."
Time & Attendance
Event catering involves variable hours at unpredictable locations, often with the same casual staff working for multiple employers. Paper timesheets cannot provide the accuracy or fatigue visibility that mobile tracking can
The Problems
Why This Matters for Catering
- Staff clock-in and clock-out at event venues using paper sheets that get lost, damaged, or filled in incorrectly - leaving payroll to guess at actual hours worked
Payroll disputes with staff who claim they worked longer than recorded, overpayment of hours not actually worked, and no reliable data for event profitability analysis
- Casual staff work back-to-back events for multiple employers with no visibility of their total hours, leading to Working Time Regulations violations you are contributing to
Staff fatigue affects service quality and safety, and you may be jointly liable for WTR breaches if you knew or should have known about excessive hours
The Solution
How Time & Attendance Helps
GPS-verified mobile clock-in at event venues, automatic break reminders, and visibility of total working hours across events to prevent fatigue-related risks
Every hour is accurately recorded with location verification, breaks are enforced and documented, and you can see when staff are approaching safe working limits
Use Cases:
- • GPS clock-in verification at event venues
- • Automatic break reminders during long events
- • Real-time hours tracking for event cost monitoring
- • Working Time Regulations compliance alerts
- • Multi-employer working hour visibility for casuals
- • Timesheet generation for payroll integration
- • Event profitability analysis with actual labor costs
Feature Screenshot
Time & Attendance
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Staff clock-in and clock-out at event venues using paper sheets that get lost, damaged, or filled in incorrectly - leaving payroll to guess at actual hours worked
Real Scenario
"A casual server submits a timesheet claiming 8 hours at a corporate event. The event manager says they left after 6 hours. The paper timesheet has no departure time recorded, and the venue has no verification. You end up paying the 8 hours to avoid conflict."
Example 2: Casual staff work back-to-back events for multiple employers with no visibility of their total hours, leading to Working Time Regulations violations you are contributing to
Real Scenario
"Your regular casual chef seems exhausted at a Saturday wedding. Later you discover he worked a 14-hour shift for another caterer on Friday night and your 12-hour Saturday event. He makes a mistake with allergen separation during service."
Training & Development
Catering relies on a pool of casual workers who may only work a few events per year. Traditional training approaches designed for permanent staff cannot reach this dispersed workforce effectively
The Problems
Why This Matters for Catering
- Casual staff work infrequently and receive minimal training - they learn by watching others and pick up bad habits that persist across dozens of events
Inconsistent service quality, food safety procedures applied differently by different staff, and allergen protocols that vary based on who happens to be working each event
- Food hygiene certificates expire without tracking, and staff continue working events until someone happens to notice the expiry during a client audit
Non-certified staff handle food at events, creating liability exposure that increases with every event they work after expiry
- Event-specific briefings happen verbally before service, but staff miss briefings or forget key information about dietary requirements, venue constraints, or client expectations
Staff make avoidable errors because they did not receive or did not retain event-specific information that was supposed to be communicated
The Solution
How Training & Development Helps
Digital training modules for casual and permanent staff, certificate tracking with automatic expiry alerts, and event-specific digital briefings with acknowledgment confirmation
Every staff member completes consistent training before working events, certifications are tracked and renewed automatically, and event briefings reach everyone with verified receipt
Use Cases:
- • Food hygiene Level 2 certification tracking and renewal
- • Allergen awareness training with scenario-based assessment
- • Mobile-accessible pre-shift training modules
- • Event-specific digital briefings with acknowledgment
- • Casual worker onboarding completed before first shift
- • Manual handling training for equipment loading
- • Customer service standards for front-of-house staff
Feature Screenshot
Training & Development
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Casual staff work infrequently and receive minimal training - they learn by watching others and pick up bad habits that persist across dozens of events
Real Scenario
"A casual server who works two events per month tells a guest that the salmon is probably fine for nut allergies - they were never trained on your allergen verification procedure because nobody had time to train them properly before their first shift."
Example 2: Food hygiene certificates expire without tracking, and staff continue working events until someone happens to notice the expiry during a client audit
Real Scenario
"During a quarterly review, you discover that 8 of your 30 casual workers have expired food hygiene certificates - some expired over a year ago. They have collectively worked 200+ events since expiry."
Example 3: Event-specific briefings happen verbally before service, but staff miss briefings or forget key information about dietary requirements, venue constraints, or client expectations
Real Scenario
"At a high-profile awards dinner, a server loudly announces a dish that the client specifically requested be served discreetly due to dietary sensitivity. The staff member was not at the briefing and nobody noticed they missed it."
HR Management
Catering operations depend on a flexible pool of casual workers with different skills, qualifications, and availability. Managing this workforce requires systems designed for variable employment, not traditional HR approaches for permanent staff
The Problems
Why This Matters for Catering
- Casual worker records are scattered across spreadsheets, email threads, and paper files - finding someone with specific skills for an event means searching multiple sources
The best staff for each event are not always contacted because nobody knows what skills and experience each casual has - scheduling becomes whoever answers first rather than whoever is best
- Right to work documentation for casual staff is checked once and filed away - when status changes or documents expire, nobody notices until it becomes an emergency
Illegal working penalties of up to 45,000 pounds per worker if right to work status has changed since the original check, plus reputational damage to your business
The Solution
How HR Management Helps
Centralised casual worker database with skills profiles, qualification tracking, right to work document management with expiry alerts, and performance ratings across events
Find the right staff for each event instantly, maintain compliant right to work documentation with automatic expiry tracking, and build a reliable pool of rated casual workers
Use Cases:
- • Casual worker skills and experience database
- • Right to work documentation with expiry tracking
- • DBS check recording for appropriate roles
- • Performance ratings and event feedback
- • Availability preferences and blackout dates
- • Emergency contact and next of kin records
- • Uniform sizing and equipment allocation
Feature Screenshot
HR Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Casual worker records are scattered across spreadsheets, email threads, and paper files - finding someone with specific skills for an event means searching multiple sources
Real Scenario
"You need a casual chef with silver service experience for a formal dinner. You know you have people with these skills in your database, but finding them means searching through 200 incomplete Excel entries. You end up asking the usual people and hoping someone is available."
Example 2: Right to work documentation for casual staff is checked once and filed away - when status changes or documents expire, nobody notices until it becomes an emergency
Real Scenario
"An immigration audit reveals a casual server visa expired eight months ago. Your original right to work check is on file, but you had no system to track the visa expiry date. The fine is substantial, and your corporate clients are concerned about your compliance processes."
Risk Assessment
Unlike restaurants operating from fixed premises, caterers face new environments at every event - each with unique hazards that generic assessments cannot address. Event-specific risk assessment is not optional, it is essential
The Problems
Why This Matters for Catering
- Every event venue is different, but risk assessments are generic documents that do not address the specific hazards of each location - from uneven ground at outdoor events to cramped kitchens in historic buildings
When an incident occurs, your risk assessment does not cover the actual hazard because it was written for a generic event environment, not the specific venue where the incident happened
- Temporary kitchen setups involve gas connections, electrical supplies, and cooking equipment in unfamiliar environments, but safety assessments are rushed or skipped entirely
Gas leaks, electrical hazards, or equipment failures cause incidents that proper pre-event assessment would have identified and prevented
The Solution
How Risk Assessment Helps
Venue-specific risk assessment templates with AI-suggested hazards based on venue type, pre-event assessment checklists, and documented control measures for each event location
Every event has a tailored risk assessment addressing its specific hazards, temporary installations are formally assessed before use, and you can demonstrate due diligence for each venue
Use Cases:
- • Venue-specific hazard identification before events
- • Temporary kitchen installation safety assessments
- • LPG and electrical temporary supply risk assessment
- • Outdoor event weather and ground condition risks
- • Guest access and crowd management assessment
- • Food transport vehicle risk assessment
- • Equipment loading and manual handling hazards
Feature Screenshot
Risk Assessment
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Every event venue is different, but risk assessments are generic documents that do not address the specific hazards of each location - from uneven ground at outdoor events to cramped kitchens in historic buildings
Real Scenario
"A server trips on an uneven flagstone at a stately home wedding and breaks their wrist. Your risk assessment mentions uneven surfaces generically but you never actually assessed this specific venue. The insurers question whether you conducted appropriate due diligence."
Example 2: Temporary kitchen setups involve gas connections, electrical supplies, and cooking equipment in unfamiliar environments, but safety assessments are rushed or skipped entirely
Real Scenario
"A temporary LPG installation at a festival event leaks during service. Investigation reveals the connection was not properly checked before use, and there was no documented assessment of the temporary gas installation - it was how we always do it with no formal verification."
Incident Reporting
Incidents at events involve temporary staff, unfamiliar venues, and time pressure - exactly the conditions where documentation is most likely to be skipped. Mobile reporting makes capture possible in chaotic event environments
The Problems
Why This Matters for Catering
- Incidents at events are handled in the moment but never formally documented - staff deal with the immediate situation and move on without recording what happened
When compensation claims arrive months later, you have no record of what occurred, what actions were taken, or what the circumstances were
- Allergic reactions at events are managed as medical emergencies, but the food safety investigation and documentation happens inadequately or not at all
You cannot prove what food was served, whether allergens were properly communicated, or what checks were in place - leaving you exposed to prosecution as well as civil claims
The Solution
How Incident Reporting Helps
Mobile incident reporting with photo capture, witness details, and immediate escalation workflows - plus allergen incident investigation templates that capture critical food safety evidence
Every incident is documented at the time it occurs with complete evidence, allergen reactions trigger structured food safety investigations, and you have the records to defend your position when claims emerge
Use Cases:
- • Guest injury documentation at event venues
- • Staff injury reporting with location details
- • Allergic reaction investigation and documentation
- • Food safety incident records with batch tracing
- • Property damage recording with photo evidence
- • Near-miss reporting for venue hazard identification
- • RIDDOR determination for reportable incidents
Feature Screenshot
Incident Reporting
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Incidents at events are handled in the moment but never formally documented - staff deal with the immediate situation and move on without recording what happened
Real Scenario
"A guest claims they were injured by a falling decoration at an event 8 months ago and seeks 20,000 pounds in compensation. Your event manager vaguely remembers something happening but there is no incident record. The guest solicitor has photos and a detailed account. You have nothing."
Example 2: Allergic reactions at events are managed as medical emergencies, but the food safety investigation and documentation happens inadequately or not at all
Real Scenario
"A guest has an allergic reaction at a corporate dinner. Paramedics are called, the guest recovers, and the event continues. Nobody documents which dish triggered the reaction, what allergen information was provided, or what checks were performed. Three weeks later, solicitors make contact."
COSHH Management
Catering staff work in a different venue every day, often using a combination of their own products and venue-supplied chemicals. COSHH compliance requires mobile accessibility, not a folder back at the production kitchen
The Problems
Why This Matters for Catering
- Cleaning chemicals travel to event venues in unmarked containers or without proper documentation - staff use products without knowing safety requirements or incompatibilities
Chemical exposure incidents occur because staff do not have access to safety information at the venue, and you cannot prove what training or guidance was provided
- Different event venues have different cleaning requirements and sometimes provide their own chemicals - staff encounter unfamiliar products with no assessment or training
Staff use venue-provided chemicals incorrectly, mix incompatible products, or fail to use required PPE because they have never seen a safety assessment for these products
The Solution
How COSHH Management Helps
Mobile-accessible COSHH assessments for all products used by your team, QR-code product identification, and venue chemical briefing checklists to address unfamiliar products
Staff can access safety information for any product on their phones at any venue, venue-provided chemicals are assessed before use, and chemical handling is documented wherever events take place
Use Cases:
- • Mobile access to COSHH assessments at event venues
- • QR code product identification and safety lookup
- • Venue chemical briefing and assessment
- • Transport container labelling verification
- • PPE requirements for each product
- • Chemical incompatibility alerts
- • Post-event cleaning product documentation
Feature Screenshot
COSHH Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Cleaning chemicals travel to event venues in unmarked containers or without proper documentation - staff use products without knowing safety requirements or incompatibilities
Real Scenario
"At an outdoor event, a casual staff member mixes two cleaning products to tackle a stubborn stain. They experience breathing difficulties from the fumes. On investigation, it emerges the products were in unmarked bottles and no safety data sheets were available at the venue."
Example 2: Different event venues have different cleaning requirements and sometimes provide their own chemicals - staff encounter unfamiliar products with no assessment or training
Real Scenario
"The venue provides industrial floor cleaner for post-event cleaning. Your staff use it without gloves because nobody told them it was corrosive. Two servers develop chemical burns on their hands. You discover the venue had COSHH sheets, but nobody on your team was briefed."
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