Waiting staff who can carry three plates, clear without a sound and know which guest is the coeliac. Hand-picked, briefed on the menu and the room, and paid properly, on a published hourly rate.
Waiting staff set the room to your plan: linen, cutlery, glassware, table numbers and place cards. They serve the drinks reception and the canapés, bring guests to the table, and serve each course on the call from the kitchen or the head waiter. They clear in order, top up water and wine, serve coffee and petits fours, and turn the room round for the evening if the plan says so.
The service style changes the job. Plated service is the most common. Silver service needs people who can serve from a flat at the table with a spoon and fork. Family style and sharing platters need reading the table. Buffets need people who keep the line moving and the display fresh. We brief the style in writing before the event, together with the menu and the allergen list.
Waiting staff and runners are Core tier at £25.00 an hour ex VAT: plated, buffet, canapé and drinks service. Fine-dining and box waiters are Skilled tier at £28.00: silver service, wine service, fine-dining sequences and hospitality boxes where one waiter looks after a whole box. A head waiter or supervisor is Lead tier at £34.00: they run the floor, call the courses with the kitchen and are your single point of contact.
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 waiting work the trial shift is a real service: we watch carrying, clearing, table manner and how the person handles an allergen question. Fine-dining and box waiters are only moved up to the Skilled tier once a Lead has seen them do it.
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. Menu length, the distance from the kitchen, stairs, speeches and the standard you expect all change the number. Tell us the brief and we will tell you honestly how few people the job needs.
| Service | Guidance only |
|---|---|
| Plated dinnerThree courses, standard service | 1 per 10 to 12 guests |
| Silver serviceServed from the flat at the table | 1 per 8 to 10 guests |
| Fine diningTasting menu or wine pairing | 1 per 6 to 8 guests |
| Buffet or sharingGuests serve or share | 1 per 20 to 30 guests |
| Canapés and drinksStanding reception | 1 per 25 to 40 guests |
| Head waiterRunning the floor | 1 per 10 to 15 waiting staff |
Waiting staff, fine-dining waiters and head waiters are charged at the national rate everywhere outside the M25. 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. Silver service is Skilled-tier work at £28.00 an hour ex VAT. We only send people who have shown us they can do it, and we brief the menu and the sequence before the event.
Every person handling food holds allergen awareness training. We brief the allergen list and the table plan in writing 48 hours before, and our people never guess. If in doubt, they check with the kitchen.
Our people arrive in black, which we supply free. If you want a specific look, such as white shirts, aprons or your own branded uniform, tell us at booking and we brief it.
Often, yes, especially at smaller events where the drinks reception comes before dinner. Tell us the plan and we build the team so nobody is doing two jobs at the same moment.
Four hours per person per shift. There is no minimum number of people, so two waiters for a private dinner is a normal booking.
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.