Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture welcomes innovative technology company developing AI tools to Edinburgh

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has welcomed ShopWorks, an exciting and innovative technology company, to Scotland. Backed by an R&D award from Scottish Enterprise to develop advanced artificial intelligence tools for employers, SWT Software Ltd (t/a ShopWorks) a Software-as-a-Service company has recently opened a new office in Edinburgh.

ShopWorks is a staff scheduling and payroll tool that also helps employers remain compliant with National Minimum Wage, Working Time Directive and other labour laws.

ShopWorks has also moved part of its fastP.A.Y.E business to Edinburgh, which provides an ethically responsible Advance Salary App that supports employee financial well-being by allowing them to draw down some of their already earned money before payday. It is free for those on minimum wage and does not create a loan cycle for employees.

“I am pleased to welcome ShopWorks and fastP.A.Y.E. to our fintech fold in Scotland and congratulate the company on its £1m R&D funding from Scottish Enterprise. This funding will help ShopWorks grow by supporting the recruitment of 19 staff at its Edinburgh office. A strong financial services sector and a vibrant tech scene has fuelled the growth of the fintech community in Scotland. The success of the fintech sector relies on the talent of the people it employs and I know that ShopWorks has been delighted by the quality of candidates it has recruited in Scotland.” says Ms Hyslop.

Scotland is becoming one of the strongest technology hubs in Europe. Pre-lockdown, the digital tech sector was advertising over 150,000 jobs a week in the first three months of the year according to government news. Edinburgh has 23% of workforce in digital tech roles and became the obvious choice for a second office base as the company was growing and looking to expand their operations.

The suite of AI tools that the company is building is designed to solve a long-standing and complex problems within staff scheduling; the accurate prediction of sales demand and the automatic scheduling of sufficient staff to meet that demand.

“We’ve had a fantastic experience with the excellent technology skill base that is available in Scotland and are very keen to grow our office here. With the help of our new Edinburgh based team we hope to help Scottish companies revolutionise their employee wellbeing.”, says Ian Hogg, CEO & Co-Founder, ShopWorks and fastP.A.Y.E.

ShopWorks Technology has already hired 13 full-time employees in Edinburgh, comprising of mainly data scientists and developers and still recruiting. It has joined FinTech Scotland, hosting their first virtual event today, Can Fintech Companies Materially Improve Employee Financial Wellbeing? as part of the Scotland Fintech Festival. 

The company is a member of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, already have a number of customers in Scotland including supplying the University of Edinburgh with their workforce management solution and intend to continue to be an active member of the local business community.

“We’re delighted to welcome fastP.A.Y.E. in the fintech community here in Scotland. They join a fast-growing group of innovative payment firms that are changing the way we use money. When we met with the team we were inspired by their passion and dedication to change the status quo around how people receive their hard-earned wage. Helping employees access their salary when earned and not at the end of the month is what fintech is all about, using data and technology to provide better outcomes for everyone. This fintech will feel at home in Scotland with so many fintechs driven by social purposes” Said Stephen Ingledew, CEO, FinTech Scotland