East Coast Bakehouse

Founded in 2015 by Michael Carey and Alison Cowzer, East Coast Bakehouse brought large-scale biscuit manufacturing back to Ireland with a purpose-built, 50,000 sq ft facility in Drogheda, County Louth. The site is home to the largest biscuit oven in Europe and produces up to 20,000 tonnes of biscuits annually for both its own brand and private-label customers.

With over 200 years of combined management experience in biscuit manufacturing, the business combines innovation, efficiency, and sustainability, with a strong focus on Origin Green standards and the use of high-quality ingredients.

But managing a 24/7 food production workforce posed challenges. Manual scheduling, fragmented HR processes, and time-consuming payroll reporting created inefficiencies.

East Coast Bakehouse needed to:

• Centralise HR Operations: Replace fragmented systems and spreadsheets with one HR platform to manage employee records, contracts, and schedules.

• Improve Time-Tracking and Attendance: Eliminate manual clock-ins and timesheet errors to improve payroll accuracy and ensure production coverage.

• Simplify Shift Scheduling: Manage complex rotas for round-the-clock production while adapting quickly to seasonal peaks and demand fluctuations.

• Ensure HR Compliance: Meet strict employment law requirements, working time rules, and food sector compliance standards.

• Streamline Payroll Reporting: Automatically link time and attendance data into payroll reports, saving time and improving accuracy.

• Support Employee Engagement: Enable staff to access rotas, policies, and HR documents via a mobile app, keeping communication simple.

With automated time-tracking, digital rotas, integrated payroll reporting, and compliance templates, East Coast Bakehouse gained full visibility of its workforce and reduced the risks and inefficiencies of manual systems. With HR Duo, East Coast Bakehouse achieved:

• Automated Time-Tracking and Attendance: Employees clock in and out via mobile or site-based devices, ensuring accurate workforce data.

• Smart Shift Scheduling and Rotas: Managers can build rotas in minutes, adapt to production demands, and notify staff instantly of updates.

• Integrated Payroll Reporting: Attendance and rota data flow directly into payroll reports, reducing manual input and payroll disputes.

• HR Compliance Tools: Digital contracts, model HR policies, and audit trails ensure compliance with employment law and industry standards.

• Mobile Self-Service for Staff: Employees can check rotas, request leave, and view HR policies directly from their phone.

• Real-Time Workforce Insights: Managers access live dashboards for attendance, overtime costs, and shift coverage, helping to improve workforce planning.