Executive Summary
What is Salaree?
Salaree is real-time, compliant payroll technology for the hourly-work and gig economy.
The Problem
Payroll technology was built for the old world of work. It has not kept pace with the growth of the flexible workforce and digital labour platforms, which are now experiencing a compliance-led transformation.
New regulation, originating in the EU and now in the UK, is forcing platform companies to classify workers correctly, which means paying them compliantly and providing statutory benefits such as holiday pay, sick pay, overtime and the National Minimum Wage.
UK Government research estimates that 900,000 UK workers are denied holiday pay each year, totalling £2.1 billion, and nearly one in five minimum wage workers are underpaid.
Existing payroll systems and processes are not fit for purpose under these new conditions.
The Solution
Salaree’s technology is a ‘next generation’ payroll engine that plugs into time and attendance systems to calculate real‑time, compliant net pay for hourly and flexible workers.
Our platform improves the speed and accuracy of payroll for workers, helps employers pay compliantly (and avoid penalties), and ensures tax authorities receive correct statutory deductions and accurate reports, in real time.
The Market
Demand for Real-Time Payroll has arisen recently in response to the expansion of the flexible workforce.
The global market for flexible work is expected to expand at a CAGR of 16.18%, reaching USD 873 billion by 2027. 28% of the global working population is employed on a part-time or temporary basis and 70% of workers would benefit from better access to liquidity.
Salaree’s target market is what the EU terms ‘digital labour platforms’ in the EU and the UK.
The EU Market
Research by the European Commission in 2021 found that there were 500 ‘digital labour platforms’ in the EU and the CAGR of the sector was 23.71% between 2023-2025. The same report forecast that the EU will employ ~43 million digital platform workers by 2025.
The UK Market
In the UK, the flexible work economy is currently estimated at 1.6 million (core platform workers) to 4.4 million (total self-employed hourly workers) and is growing at ~10.5 CAGR.
Why now?
Regulation Driving Change
In the EU, the Platform Workers Directive is enforcing pay transparency in the flexible work sector. In the UK, the forthcoming Fair Work Agency will oblige employers to comply with their obligations in terms of sick pay, holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.
Younger generations demand real-time pay
80% of workers between 18-44 would prefer to have their pay automatically ‘streamed’ into their bank accounts as they earn; after every shift, job or delivery. (Harris/Ceridian, 2021) Other research supports the thesis that an increasing percentage of workers want their wages paid the same day they work (79% in 2022, 30% higher than in 2018, Center for Generational Kinetics, 2022).
Concerns over Earned Wage Access (EWA) technologies
Early Wage Access technologies function as automated salary advance rather than providing real-time net pay calculations. Most charge fees to workers which could contribute to financial distress when used frequently. Ethical concerns over these solutions from payroll teams, and negative PR has constrained their adoption.
The Product
Our Real-Time Payroll is built on a simple, powerful, and fully automated technology stack:
1. Connect: Data on hours worked is seamlessly imported from our client’s existing timesheet systems through our API. We are agnostic of which timesheet software the client employs.
2. Calculate: Funds are instantly credited, minus any statutory deductions, to an employee's secure digital wallet the moment they are earned. Workers can view their available balance and withdraw money on demand via Faster Payment rails.
3. Report: HMRC reporting (RTI) and payslips are generated in real-time and handled compliantly. Machine learning models predict drawdowns helping employers manage cash flow.
How we are using Artificial Intelligence
Salaree uses AI in the following contexts:
- Accelerating engineering output - optimising product development and support for a small, agile team
- Cashflow forecasting - machine learning algorithms provide accurate financial forecasting and anomaly detection within payroll transactions
- Error reduction - data validation techniques to identify and rectify discrepancies in input data
While it is tempting in 2025 to position Salaree as the ‘Payroll Copilot for Flexible Workers’, we approach AI with caution. AI is ‘non-deterministic’ and therefore must be utilised carefully in a payroll context, where data accuracy, compliance, and predictability—often to several decimal places—are paramount.
Progress and Traction
Salaree received an Innovate UK Smart Grant in September 2024. This subsidy funded 16 months of product development at the end of which version 1.0 of the Salaree’s product was completed. We have received a number of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from partners at accounting firms, digital labour platforms and payroll bureaus.
Salaree are members of the EU’s Freelance Movement, primarily via this network are currently in conversation with the following digital labour platforms about initial trials:
- Delivery Hero
- Zen Educate
- Bolt
- Volt
PreSeed Fundraise
Salaree are raising £300k in a pre-seed round to fund ongoing product development and support initial customer onboarding in the UK. In this round, £130k of SEIS is still available and the £170k is EIS. Ideally they’d like some or all of this to come from Investing NED’s who can also contribute skills, experience, knowledge and network access. If you think that you can contribute to Salaree’s exciting journey then we’re keen to hear from you.
How to apply
Please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to express your interest.
Closing Date: 4 weeks from posting.
