jobfacts

Waiter

Waiters and waitresses — SOC 2020 9264

Waiters and waitresses serve food and beverages in hotels, clubs, restaurants public houses and other establishments.

Also calledWaiting staffServerWaitressStewardRoom service assistantWard waitressand 49 more titles
Typical full-time pay£22,9002025 Provisional
People in the job260,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month3,200↓ 1.7%on last year · 56th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time waiters earn between £18,400 and £27,400 a year.

What full-time waiters earn, 2025
£22,900 typical£14,200lowest 10%£18,40025%£28,500top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£18,400–£27,400)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£14,200
Lowest 20% earn less than£16,900
25%£18,400
Median£22,900
75%£27,400
Top 20% earn more than£28,500
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £22,900
London£26,700
East Midlands!£23,200
West Midlands!£22,100
Wales!£21,300
North West!£21,000
East of England!£21,000
South East!£20,600
Yorkshire and The Humber!£19,600
Scotland!£16,000
North EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £22,900
London£26,700
East Midlands£23,200 (small sample)
West Midlands£22,100 (small sample)
Wales£21,300 (small sample)
North West£21,000 (small sample)
East of England£21,000 (small sample)
South East£20,600 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£19,600 (small sample)
Scotland£16,000 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £18,600
  • 2024 £21,600
  • 2025 Provisional£22,900
↑ 23% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 3,200 jobs for waiters are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20263,076
Jul 20263,048
Jun 20263,009
May 20263,619
Apr 20263,518
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20263,281
Jan 20262,903
Dec 20251,264
Nov 20253,471
Oct 20253,837
Sept 20253,980
Aug 20254,171
Jul 20253,233
Jun 20253,520
May 20253,656
Apr 20253,479
Mar 20253,729
Feb 20253,169
Jan 20252,540
Dec 20241,293
Nov 20242,809
Oct 20243,697
Sept 20244,041
Aug 20244,082
Jul 20243,575
Jun 20243,556
May 20244,812
Apr 20244,557
Mar 20243,660
Feb 20243,279
Jan 20242,835
Dec 20231,886
Nov 20231,983
Oct 20232,546
Sept 20232,452
Aug 20233,895
Jul 20233,214
Jun 20235,169
May 20235,920
Apr 20235,040
Mar 20235,443
Feb 20235,080
Jan 20235,198
Dec 20223,783
Nov 20225,040
Oct 20226,239
Sept 20225,601
Aug 20225,959
Jul 20226,100
Jun 20226,062
May 20226,885
Apr 20226,977
Mar 20226,959
Feb 20225,783
Jan 20225,488
Dec 20213,418
Nov 20215,412
Oct 20215,701
Sept 20216,195
Aug 20216,039
Jul 20215,293
Jun 20214,894
May 20214,726
Apr 20213,145
Mar 20213,396
Feb 2021474
Jan 2021298
Dec 2020738
Nov 2020872
Oct 2020920
Sept 20202,047
Aug 20201,859
Jul 20201,493
Jun 2020914
May 2020284
Apr 2020652
Mar 20201,947
Feb 20204,109
Jan 20203,649
Dec 20192,796
Nov 20194,275
Oct 20194,309
Sept 20194,923
Aug 20194,551
Jul 20193,177
Jun 20193,415
May 20193,664
Apr 20193,136
Mar 20193,031
Feb 20192,750
Jan 20192,440
Dec 20181,907
Nov 20183,177
Oct 20183,968
Sept 20183,953
Aug 20182,957
Jul 20182,786
Jun 20183,109
May 20182,934
Apr 20182,851
Mar 20183,253
Feb 20182,847
Jan 20183,096
Dec 20171,998
Nov 20173,376
Oct 20173,364
Sept 20173,600
Aug 20173,682
Jul 20173,071
Jun 20174,342
May 20175,982
Apr 20176,260
Mar 20175,421
Feb 20173,538
Jan 20173,308
Is there a shortage of waiters?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
16%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London2,147
City of Edinburgh164
Manchester140
North Yorkshire138
Glasgow City110
Birmingham109
Cornwall105
Leeds102
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole100
Buckinghamshire93
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where waiters are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of waiters
69%
12%
8%!
4.6%!
4.9%!
1.4%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2469%
25–3412%
35–448% (small sample)
45–544.6% (small sample)
55–644.9% (small sample)
65+1.4% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent20%
Higher education below degree!4.1%
A levels or equivalent36%
GCSEs or equivalent28%
Other qualifications6%
No qualifications5.2%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent20%
Higher education below degree4.1% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent36%
GCSEs or equivalent28%
Other qualifications6%
No qualifications5.2%

Main employers: restaurants and mobile food service activities (53%), event catering activities (12%), hotels and similar accommodation (11%), beverage serving activities (7.1%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
20%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 36%
Apprenticeships
1
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 year
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could prepare for this job by doing a college course to get some of the skills you'll need.

Courses include:

  • introduction to employment in the hospitality industry
  • food and beverage service
  • professional food and beverage service
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Catering and Hospitality Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship, or Food and Beverage Team Member Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More about this route
Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • are in care or have been in care
  • are in prison or have been in prison

Other ways in

Volunteering

You could volunteer in a cafe run by a local community organisation or a charity like the Royal Voluntary Service to develop your skills.

You can also find more volunteering opportunities through Do IT.

Apply directly

You can apply for waiter jobs without experience as you'll get training on the job.

You might have an advantage if you've worked in customer service.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Advertised pay rates are often listed as full-time equivalent (FTE). Actual pay will depend on the number of hours worked.

Further information

You can find out more about working in hospitality from Careerscope.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for waiter. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Catering and hospitality foundation apprenticeshipFoundation apprenticeship2

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • sets tables with clean linen, cutlery, crockery and glassware
  • presents menus and wine lists to patrons and may describe dishes and advise on selection of food or wines
  • takes down orders for food and/or drinks and passes order to kitchen and/or bar
  • serves food and drinks
  • presents bill and accepts payment at end of the meal

Skills

  • advise guests on menus for special events
  • arrange tables
  • assist clients with special needs
  • assist customers
  • assist VIP guests
  • check dining room cleanliness
  • clean surfaces
  • comply with food safety and hygiene
  • maintain customer service
  • maintain relationship with customers
  • present menus
  • process reservations
  • take food and beverage orders from customers
  • welcome restaurant guests

Knowledge

  • alcoholic beverage products
  • dietary regimes
  • food and beverages on the menu

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Practical, hands-on work

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary administration and service occupations, a group of 26 jobs that includes waiters.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 1.5%about 48,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351.5 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.