Newcastle is where we are based, so this is where we recruit first. Book bar, waiting and event staff for your 2026 Christmas party on one published festive rate, with names confirmed within two hours.
Tyneside Christmas parties start early and finish late. Office bookings begin in the last week of November, and from the first weekend of December most function rooms in the city centre are full from Thursday to Saturday. The big night is Mad Friday, the last Friday before Christmas, which in 2026 falls on 18 December. Almost every office in the region breaks up that day, and bars on the Quayside, Collingwood Street and the Bigg Market run at capacity from mid-afternoon.
Mid-week is busier here than people expect. Public sector teams, universities and NHS departments often book Tuesday and Wednesday lunches and early evenings, because the weekends went in September. If your party can move off a Friday, you will have more choice of people and venue.
This is home ground. We recruit on Tyneside, in Gateshead and between Newcastle and Durham first, so a Newcastle quote usually has no travel line at all. We charge travel only beyond 15 miles of the person's base.
The Metro does not run all night, and on a busy December Friday taxis in the city centre are hard to find after midnight. For any shift that finishes late we write the finish time and the route home into the brief, and our people agree it before they accept the shift. If your venue can offer a staff taxi or a drop-off at the Central Station rank, tell us and we will note it.
For venues out of town, in the Tyne Valley or on the Northumberland coast, we plan lifts between the team or quote a minibus at cost. Nobody is left to walk to a bus stop at 1am.
A plated three-course office party in a city-centre hotel, 100 guests, on a Friday in December.
| Who and how long | Line |
|---|---|
| Waiting staff, Core8 × 7 hours × £28.00 | £1,568.00 |
| Bar staff, Core3 × 7 hours × £28.00 | £588.00 |
| Lead, runs the floor1 × 7 hours × £37.00 | £259.00 |
| Staff line, ex VAT12 people. VAT added at the standard rate. | £2,415.00 |
| Contingency, 20%Charged only if the night runs long. Unused, never charged. | £483.00 |
Seven hours covers an hour of set-up, a 7pm sit-down, the disco and a clear-down. At one waiting staff member to every 12 or 13 guests, courses go out on the call. 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 Newcastle, 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 bar, waiting and event staff are £28.00 an hour ex VAT, Skilled £31.00, Leads £37.00 and senior chefs £43.00. The person working your party is paid £16.00 an hour plus holiday pay at Core. There is no regional uplift and usually no travel line on Tyneside.
Yes, if you book early. Mad Friday is the busiest night of the year in Newcastle, so we ask for Friday bookings by Friday 13 November. The rate is the same festive rate as any other December night. There is no surge price.
Many do. We are based in Newcastle upon Tyne and recruit our core team here first, so most Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside bookings are filled by people who live within 15 miles.
Tell your account manager as soon as you know. More than 48 hours before the start there is no charge to reduce the team. Every quote also carries a 20% contingency line that is only charged if the night runs long.
Yes. Book a named core team by Friday 16 October and the same people return for every date, learn your venue once and are briefed afresh for each night.
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.