Fast-food perk: Finish a shift, get expedited pay

Workers at Church’s Chicken, Pizza Hut and Checkers can now get expedited pay as U.S. restaurants grapple with a labor shortage that’s not showing any signs of abating.

Restaurant chains are pulling out all the stops to attract and retain cooks and cashiers amid persistently low unemployment. The latest move: Same-day and next-day paychecks. Starting in June, eight Church’s Chicken restaurants will offer employees half of their earned pay the day after their shift. The test will gauge whether the 50% is enough for workers, and the idea is to roll it out more widely going forward. It’s not a loan, and there are no fees.

“It will give the employee the chance to get spending money quicker,” Church’s CEO Joe Christina said. “Some people just can’t wait two weeks to get paid.”

With an accelerating economy and the U.S. jobless rate at a 49-year low, restaurants are hurting. The dining industry is growing increasingly desperate to attract and keep quality employees, and simply raising wages isn’t always enough. That’s why they’re getting creative with hiring parties, text-message recruiting and signing bonuses. McDonald’s Corp. is even going after senior citizens to flip burgers.

Labor is “the No. 1 item” discussed among management, Christina said. “In all my years, it’s the toughest labor market that I can remember.”

Atlanta-based Church’s reached into the city’s northern suburbs to hire another firm, Instant Financial, to offer the perk. Church’s and sister brand Texas Chicken have more than 1,500 stores worldwide.

The majority of working adults are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent survey from the nonpartisan research group NORC at the University of Chicago.