Front of house duties: roles, checklists and job descriptions (UK)

Front of house (FOH) staff are everyone guests deal with: managers, hosts, servers, runners, bartenders and baristas. Their duties are to welcome guests, take orders, serve food and drinks, take payment and keep the dining room safe and clean. In the UK, FOH staff also give allergen information, check age for alcohol sales and must receive tips in full. Here's who does what, with free job description templates you can copy or print.

What does front of house mean?

Front of house is the part of a venue guests see: the entrance, dining room, bar and toilets. Back of house (BOH) is the kitchen, wash-up, stores and office. FOH staff work the guest side. BOH staff cook, clean and prep.

Front of house roles and duties

In a small café, one person may do four of these jobs in a single shift.

FOH duties by shift

Before service

• Check the rota, bookings and any large parties
• Set tables, check cutlery, glassware, menus and condiments
• Check the toilets
• Open the till with a counted float
• Pre-shift briefing: specials, 86'd dishes, allergens in new dishes, VIPs
• Check QR codes and table numbers are in place, and that table numbers match your floor plan

During service

• Greet within a minute or so, seat, and give menus
• Take orders and ask about allergies
• Fire courses and keep in touch with the kitchen
• Check back after food lands
• Present the bill and take payment
• Reset tables fast

After service

• Clear and clean the floor, bar and toilets
• Cash up the till and record tips apart from takings
• Restock the bar and side stations
• Handover notes for the next shift
• Lock up and set alarms

Print this page and pin the list by the till, or use our printable opening and closing checklists and the till cash-up guide.

UK duties every FOH team must know

Allergens

Staff must be able to tell guests which of the 14 allergens are in each dish, or point them to accurate written information. The safest habit: ask every table about allergies, every time, and check with the kitchen, never guess. See our 14 allergens guide.

Alcohol and age checks

Under the Licensing Act 2003, every venue that sells alcohol must have an age verification policy. Anyone who looks under 18 (or a higher age your policy sets, such as 25) must show photo ID with a date of birth and a hologram or UV mark, or an accepted digital ID. Most venues run Challenge 25. Every sale must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder. Train staff on your policy and record the training.

Pay, tips and breaks

• Minimum pay from April 2026: £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18–20, and £8.00 for under-18s and apprentices.
• Tips are extra. They can't count towards minimum wage. Since October 2024, all tips and service charge must go to staff in full, shared fairly and on time. Split them with our tronc calculator.
• Breaks: adults working more than 6 hours get a 20-minute break. They also get 11 hours' rest between working days. Under-18s get a 30-minute break if they work more than 4.5 hours, and 12 hours' rest between working days. Plan breaks in the staff rota maker.

Right to work

Check every new starter's right to work in the UK before they start. The civil penalty for illegal working is up to £60,000 for each illegal worker.

Restaurant manager job description (template)

Job title: Restaurant Manager Reports to: Owner / Operations Manager Hours: [e.g. 45 hours a week, including evenings and weekends] Pay: [£ salary] + share of tronc (under the tipping policy)

Purpose: Run a safe, profitable restaurant that guests want to come back to.

Key duties:

• Lead the FOH team: hire, train, rota and review staff
• Hit weekly sales, labour and GP targets
• Manage bookings, walk-ins and online orders
• Cash-up, banking and petty cash
• Keep food safety, allergen, licensing and fire records up to date
• Deal with complaints and reviews
• Order FOH stock and manage suppliers
• Work with the head chef on menus, pricing and specials

Skills and experience:

• 2+ years supervising in hospitality [adjust]
• Personal licence (or willing to get one)
• Food hygiene level 2 or 3 [adjust]
• Comfortable with EPOS, rotas and spreadsheets

More FOH job description templates

Copy the one you need and fill in the brackets. Every role below also needs: allergen training, your age verification policy (for anyone serving alcohol) and a right-to-work check before the first shift.

Supervisor / assistant manager

Reports to: Restaurant Manager Pay: £[ ] an hour (at least the National Living Wage) + tronc share Key duties:

• Run shifts: open, brief the team, close and lock up
• Cash up the till and record tips apart from takings
• Cover the manager on days off
• Handle complaints on the floor
• Check allergen, cleaning and temperature records are filled in

Skills: 1+ year in hospitality [adjust]; personal licence or willing to get one; calm under pressure.

Host / meeter-greeter

Reports to: Supervisor or Restaurant Manager Pay: £[ ] an hour (at least the National Living Wage) + tronc share Key duties:

• Greet every guest and manage the door
• Take bookings by phone and online, and run the waitlist
• Seat tables evenly across sections
• Tell servers about allergies, birthdays and regulars

Skills: friendly, organised, clear on the phone.

Server / waiter / waitress

Reports to: Supervisor Pay: £[ ] an hour (at least the National Living Wage) + tronc share Key duties:

• Take orders and ask every table about allergies
• Know the menu, specials and which dishes contain the 14 allergens
• Serve food and drinks, check back, clear and reset tables
• Present the bill and take payment
• Help with opening and closing duties

Skills: good memory, clear speaker, able to work on your feet for a full shift.

Bartender

Reports to: Bar Manager or Supervisor Pay: £[ ] an hour (at least the National Living Wage) + tronc share Key duties:

• Make and serve drinks to your venue's specs
• Follow the age verification policy (for example Challenge 25) on every sale
• Refuse service to anyone who's drunk, and record refusals
• Restock, clean and close the bar

Skills: drinks knowledge [adjust]; confident checking ID; 18 or over.

Barista

Reports to: Café Manager or Supervisor Pay: £[ ] an hour (at least the National Living Wage) + tronc share Key duties:

• Make coffee and drinks to your recipes
• Take counter orders and payment
• Know which milks and syrups contain allergens
• Clean and back-flush the coffee machine, and keep the counter tidy

Skills: barista experience or willing to learn; fast and tidy.

Take the pressure off FOH at busy times

On a packed Friday, servers lose minutes walking orders to the till. QR table ordering lets guests order and pay from their phone, with the table number on every ticket. Staff spend their time on welcome, drinks and checking back instead.

Menuthere's QR table ordering is on the Free plan, with 0% commission. Orders ring on the partner app and print in the kitchen. You can add unlimited staff logins.

Allergen questions slow service too. On every Menuthere plan, Free included, you can tag the 14 allergens, calories and a halal mark on each dish, and guests see them when they open the dish. Servers can point guests to it, but they should still ask about allergies and check with the kitchen. Keep a printed matrix too: our allergen chart maker can load the allergens you've tagged.

Give your FOH team a hand on busy nights.

Create your free ordering pagebook a demo (opens in a new tab)