What it's really like working as a waiter or waitress

Over 5,000 real waiters and waitresses have told us what it’s like working for their employers and what their job is really like:

Read on to see what they say.

Or skip to the bit that matters to you:

What do waiters and waitresses do?
How much do waiters and waitresses get paid?
How old do you have to be to work as a waiter or waitress?
What do waiters and waitresses think of their job?
Do waiters and waitresses get paid breaks?
Find waiter or waitress jobs on Breakroom

A bit of background to being a waiter or waitress

A Waiter or Waitress is someone who works mostly in restaurants, bars, hotels and other food-serving establishments. Their main responsibility is to make sure guests have an excellent dining experience by providing good customer service. As a Waiter or Waitress, you'll greet guests, take meal orders and be responsible for the communication between the front of house and the kitchen.

How much do waiters and waitresses get paid?

Age	Pay range
Under 18	£4.81–9.00
18-20	£6.83–10.00
21-24	£9.15–10.43
25 or older	£9.50–11.50

How old do you have to be to work as a waiter or waitress?

You can work as a waiter or waitress from the age of 16.

During term time, you can work a maximum of 12 hours a week. On Saturdays, you can work a maximum of 8 hours. That’s a full day!

However, on both school days and Sundays, you are limited to just 2 hours.

You also cannot work before 7 am and after 7 pm.

During the school holiday, you can work a maximum of 35 hours a week.

This includes a maximum of 8 hours Monday to Saturday.

On Sunday you’re only allowed to work a maximum of 2 hours.

What do waiters and waitresses think of their job?

The good 👍

92% of waiters and waitresses say they are paid at or above the legal minimum wage.

77% of students report this is a good job if you’re studying.

71% of waiters and waitresses say they’re treated with respect by their managers.

71% of waiters and waitresses report that they don’t do extra unpaid work.

The bad 👎

97% of waiters and waitresses say they wouldn’t get paid if they were sick but scheduled to work.

90% of waiters and waitresses say they are paid below the Real Living Wage for where they live.

76% of waiters and waitresses say they often feel stressed at work.

Do waiters and waitresses get paid breaks?

69% of waiters and waitresses say they don’t get paid breaks.

Find a waiter or waitress job on Breakroom

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Data used in this blog post is from 21 September 2022

Published on 21 September 2022