Planday X CODE Hospitality

The best hospitality businesses have a secret that never makes the menu; their people are their product.

The businesses that know this build teams that stay with them for longer, serve guests better and, quietly, outperform those who don’t. Happier teams mean happier guests. Happier guests mean happier bottom lines. The thing is, the businesses that put their people first rarely get the recognition they deserve.

That’s why we’re partnering with CODE Hospitality. To shine a light on the hospitality industry’s everyday heroes.

For the third year in a row, we’re proud to sponsor CODE’s Happiest Places to Work in Hospitality so we can champion those who have discovered that the guest experience starts well before anyone sets foot in the door.

What is CODE Hospitality?

CODE Hospitality is a community built for the people who make hospitality work. From exclusive dining offers and industry events to career resources, insights and networking, CODE gives hospitality professionals access to the support the industry needs.

CODE has thousands of members across the UK – including chefs, front of house teams, managers and operators – and is one of the industry’s most-trusted voices. Their mission’s simple: to make hospitality a better place to work. And ours is to make shift work more human. 

That’s why our partnership pairs 🍷 so delightfully; because we both pull in the same direction.

What is the Happiest Places to Work?

The Happiest Places to Work is CODE’s annual commitment to find and celebrate the businesses that put their people first, championing the happiest teams in hospitality and highlighting some of their most innovative practices. 

Think you have what it takes to make the cut? Register your interest and ask your team to complete a short survey about their workplace. Your results will be anonymised and assessed by an expert panel of industry leaders. The final list will be announced later in the year, and recognises companies whose people genuinely love where they work.

Past winners include some of the UK’s most-respected names. And the thing that unites all winners is simple; intention. Every winner has shown a genuine commitment to communication, fair scheduling and creating an environment where people can do their very best work.

What the happiest teams do differently

The Happiest Places to Work list isn’t about uncovering “perks”. Look at the businesses that have made it, especially those who have won, and a clear pattern emerges. They communicate clearly, often and appropriately. Their schedules give their people enough time to plan their lives and finances. They build cultures where feedback is welcome, not policed.

Take the last two winners, for example.

Bubala, who topped the list in 2025, put it simply:  "Happiness doesn't come from a 'one size fits all' model. Our approach is to meet people where they are, instead of asking them to fit a mold."

Forza Restaurants, 2024 winners (and Planday customers 💙) put a lot of stock in the importance of scheduling ahead. "Three weeks is the sweet spot," says Max Coltart, Forza’s people and culture manager. "It creates a better relationship with the team and gives everyone more flexibility." 

Two sides to the same coin: when your operations are predictable, you give your team the headspace they need to do what they got into the industry for.

And when you have the right infrastructure, like Forza does (😉), you can focus on building a culture where happiness can take root. By removing the friction of last-minute rota changes, opaque pay and messages that fall through the cracks, you give culture the room to breathe.

Happy teams don’t just make workplaces nicer. They improve your guest experience. Every time.

Three years together. And we've never been happier