Birmingham runs some of the biggest Christmas party nights in the country. We supply bar, floor and kitchen people on one published festive rate, with names and travel confirmed within two hours.
Birmingham does Christmas at scale. Large venues and hotels around Broad Street, the Jewellery Quarter and the airport run shared party nights for hundreds of guests at a time, several nights a week, from late November. Alongside those, restaurants in Brindleyplace, the Mailbox and Digbeth take exclusive hires for teams of 50 to 150.
The Frankfurt Christmas Market opens in early November, so the city centre is busy for seven weeks. Hotels near New Street fill with visitors as well as parties, which is worth knowing if your team will need rooms.
Salt Social People is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, around three and a half hours from Birmingham. We are recruiting a Midlands team, but today larger Birmingham bookings are likely to include people from our travelling core team, with travel and hotel shown at cost on their own lines. Multi-night party runs suit that model well. At booking we confirm within two hours who is coming, where from, and what it adds.
Trains from New Street and the tram do not run all night, and the ring road makes some venues awkward to reach on foot. For late finishes we write the finish time and the route home into the brief. Where our travelling team is working, the hotel is booked close to the venue and shown at cost, so nobody is looking for a train at 1am.
During the market, streets around Victoria Square and New Street are very busy. We set call times with that in mind.
A hotel party with a hot fork buffet, 100 guests, a bar and a disco, with a kitchen porter for the clear-down.
| Who and how long | Line |
|---|---|
| Floor staff, buffet and clearing, Core4 × 6 hours × £28.00 | £672.00 |
| Bar staff, Core3 × 6 hours × £28.00 | £504.00 |
| Kitchen porter, Core1 × 6 hours × £28.00 | £168.00 |
| Lead, runs the room1 × 6 hours × £37.00 | £222.00 |
| Staff line, ex VAT9 people. VAT added at the standard rate. | £1,566.00 |
| Contingency, 20%Charged only if the night runs long. Unused, never charged. | £313.20 |
If some of the team travel from our core team, their rail and hotel are shown as separate lines at cost, with meals at £20 a day. We agree those lines with you before you book. Festive rates: Core £28.00, Skilled £31.00, Lead £37.00. If the night comes in under the quoted total, we refund 5%. New clients also get one person for one four-hour shift free on their first booking.
Want your own numbers? Use the instant estimate on our rate card or send the brief for a written quote within 60 minutes.
Festive rates for Birmingham, per hour, excluding VAT, 1 December to 2 January. No regional uplift. What we pay is shown next to what you pay.
| Tier | We pay them | You pay us |
|---|---|---|
| CoreBar staff, waiting, runners, kitchen porters, event crew, stewards, cloakroom, admissions | £16.00 + 12.07% holiday | £28.00 |
| SkilledCocktail bartenders, baristas, fine-dining and box waiters, hosts, brand ambassadors, team leaders | £18.50 + holiday | £31.00 |
| LeadSupervisors, event managers, chefs de partie | £22.00 + holiday | £37.00 |
| Senior chefSous chefs, head chefs | £26.00 + holiday | £43.00 |
Every client booking carries the same five guarantees, written into our terms of business.
Written, itemised, ex VAT, 8am to 8pm every day. Three hours outside that.
Your account manager's mobile is on the booking confirmation, answered on any day we have people working.
Anyone not right? Tell us in the first hour. No charge for them and a replacement on the way.
New clients get one person for one four-hour shift free on their first booking. See what you are buying.
Names confirmed within two hours of booking. If we cannot fill a position we say so at booking, never on the day.
From 1 December to 2 January, Core staff are £28.00 an hour ex VAT, Skilled £31.00, Leads £37.00 and senior chefs £43.00. Travel and hotel for any travelling team are shown at cost on their own lines.
We are recruiting a Midlands team, but we will be straight with you: larger Birmingham bookings today are likely to include our travelling core team. We confirm within two hours of booking who is coming and what travel adds.
Yes. A run of nights suits our travelling team well, because one hotel booking covers several shifts. Book a named team by 16 October.
Yes. Kitchen porters are Core at £28.00 in December, chefs de partie are Lead at £37.00, and sous or head chefs are £43.00.
No. The festive uplift is the only December change, and it is published. There is no premium for a Friday or a late booking.
See the whole rate card, start a full quote, or download the Christmas party staffing checklist (PDF). Looking for shifts yourself? Work with us.
When to book, how many people you need, and what to brief. One printable PDF.
One email with the PDF. No newsletter unless you ask. Unsubscribe any time.
If it did not open, download it here.
We will reply within 60 minutes between 8am and 8pm, or first thing tomorrow. Want it faster? Message us on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp usYour brief lands with Tasmyn or Liam, not a queue. A written quote within 60 minutes (8am to 8pm) and a call if anything needs clarifying. A named mobile is given to every client at booking.
Every person paid through our PAYE payroll, so you carry no status risk. Right-to-work checks before day one. Employers' Liability £10m, Public Liability £10m. Certificates with your first confirmation.
Keep them. Use us for the shifts they cannot fill, or the ones that matter most. Overflow is where most first clients start.
Short on people for a big weekend? We supply overflow to other agencies on the same published terms.