Bartenders and waiting staff for house parties, milestone birthdays, anniversaries and garden parties. Hand-picked, briefed on your home and your guests, and paid properly, on a published hourly rate with a four-hour minimum and no minimum number of people.
At a party at home the job is to make the host a guest. Our people arrive at the briefed time, set up the bar and the serving area where you want them, chill the drinks, and serve the arrival drinks and canapés. Through the evening they keep glasses filled, pass food, clear empties and plates, and keep the kitchen and bar tidy as they go. At the end they wash and put away glassware and crockery, bag the rubbish and leave the kitchen as they found it.
For a seated dinner, waiting staff serve each course from your kitchen or your caterer, clear between courses and pour the wine. For a garden party they work between the house and the garden, keep the drinks table stocked and watch the ice. We supply the people. The drinks, food, glassware and any hired bar or equipment come from you or your caterer, and we brief our team on what is where.
Bartenders, waiting staff and kitchen porters are Core tier at £25.00 an hour ex VAT: drinks, canapés, serving and clearing. A cocktail bartender is Skilled tier at £28.00, making a cocktail menu to order. If you want food cooked on the night, a chef de partie is Lead tier at £34.00 and cooks your menu with your ingredients in your kitchen. We do not write menus or buy food or drink as part of the hourly rate.
Every person on our books has been interviewed by us, has had two references checked, has passed a right-to-work check before their first shift and has worked a paid trial shift alongside a senior member of our team. Anyone handling food or drink holds Level 2 food safety and allergen awareness, paid for by us. Supervisors hold Level 3.
For work in private homes we choose people who are calm, tidy and at ease working in someone else's house. The written brief includes the address and parking, where to set up, what drinks and food are in the house, any rooms that are off limits, allergies among the guests and your mobile number. Our people work under your direction, and the first-hour promise applies at home as it does at any venue.
They are our people, engaged on PAYE zero-hours terms, and they choose which shifts to accept. So the person who turns up wanted the shift. They are paid every Friday, from £14.00 an hour plus holiday, and they are paid for the hours booked even if you send them home early.
Every person is briefed twice before your event: once in writing 48 hours out, with the venue, door, transport, uniform, service style, allergens and your on-site contact, and once by phone three hours before start. They photo check-in on arrival. If anyone is not right, tell us in the first hour and there is no charge for them.
If you want to work these shifts yourself, see how we take people on.
These are the starting points we use when we build a quote. They are general guidance, not a rule. The size of the house, the distance from the kitchen to the garden, whether food is served and how complicated the drinks are all change the number. Tell us the plan and we will tell you honestly how few people the party needs, even if that is one.
| Service | Guidance only |
|---|---|
| Drinks and canapésStanding party at home | 1 per 25 to 40 guests |
| Bar at homeBeer, wine, spirits and mixers | 1 per 50 to 75 guests |
| CocktailsA short menu made to order | 1 per 40 to 60 guests |
| Seated dinnerServed from your kitchen | 1 per 8 to 10 guests |
| Garden partyHouse and garden, longer carries | Add 1 to the team |
Private party bartenders and waiting staff are charged at the national rate everywhere outside the M25, and a Saturday costs the same as a Tuesday. The only uplifts we apply are for London, the festive period, bank holidays and New Year's Eve, and they are printed below.
| Tier | We pay them | You pay us |
|---|---|---|
| CoreBar staff, waiting, runners, kitchen porters, event crew, stewards, cloakroom, admissions | £14.00 + 12.07% holiday | £25.00 |
| SkilledCocktail bartenders, baristas, fine-dining and box waiters, hosts, brand ambassadors, team leaders | £16.50 + holiday | £28.00 |
| LeadSupervisors, event managers, chefs de partie | £20.00 + holiday | £34.00 |
| Senior chefSous chefs, head chefs | £24.00 + holiday | £40.00 |
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.
Yes. There is no minimum number of people. One bartender for four hours is a normal booking.
No. We supply the people. Drinks, glassware, ice and any hired bar come from you or your caterer. Tell us what you have and we will tell you honestly if you are short of anything.
Yes. A chef de partie at £34.00 an hour ex VAT cooks your menu in your kitchen with your ingredients. Menu writing and shopping are not included in the hourly rate.
Yes. Washing glassware and crockery, bagging rubbish and leaving the kitchen as they found it is part of the booking. Build the clearing time into the hours you book.
There is no travel charge within 15 miles of the worker's base. Further out, travel is shown as its own line in the quote, never a surprise on the invoice.
Every quote includes a contingency line so a late finish never becomes an argument. If we do not use it, you do not pay it. Finish times and transport home are written into the brief.
Yes. New Year's Eve carries an uplift of £6.00 an hour, so Core staff are £31.00 an hour ex VAT. It is printed on the rate card and books up early.
See the whole rate card and the instant estimate, or start a full quote. Looking for shifts yourself? Work with us.
Your 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.