How to recruit bar staff (and keep them past the first month)

Every pub manager knows the feeling: two bartenders hand in notice in the same week, the summer's coming, and the job ad you posted three days ago has had four replies, one of them from someone in another country. Recruiting bar staff isn't hard because good people don't exist. It's hard because they're being chased by every other pub, bar and coffee shop in town, and the fastest, clearest employer usually wins.

Here's a practical process, from the advert to the end of the first fortnight.

1. Know exactly what you're hiring for

Before you write anything, answer these:

• Which shifts? "Thursday to Saturday evenings and alternate Sundays" is a job. "Flexible hours" is a warning sign to good candidates.
• How many hours a week, realistically? Students may want 12 to 16. Career bartenders want 30 plus.
• What level? A bartender who can run a section on a Saturday, or a new starter you'll train? Both are fine; just know which.
• What's the pay? Your rate, any premium, and how tips work.

Pay must be at least the minimum wage for the person's age. From April 2026 that's £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20, and £8.00 for under-18s and apprentices. See our minimum wage guide.

2. Write an advert people actually reply to

The best bar staff adverts are short and specific. Lead with what candidates care about, in this order:

1. Pay. Put the hourly rate in the advert. It's the first thing most candidates look for.
2. Shifts and hours. Days, times, how many hours.
3. Why you. Tips shared fairly under a written policy, free staff meal, rota published two weeks ahead, training, a team that sticks around. Only say what's true.
4. What you need. Keep it to two or three things: "a friendly face, reliable, happy to learn".
5. How to apply. One easy step. A phone number or a two-question form beats a CV upload for bar roles.

Words to avoid. GOV.UK warns employers not to discriminate in job adverts and to use phrases like "recent graduate" or "highly experienced" only when they're genuine requirements. "Young, lively team" or "would suit a student" can put off, and discriminate against, perfectly good older candidates. Describe the job and the atmosphere instead: "busy Friday and Saturday nights, live music, great regulars".

An example:

Bartender, The Red Lion, Thursday-Saturday evenings, £13.00/hour plus tips 16-24 hours a week, 5pm to close. Tips shared fairly every month under our written policy. Free staff meal every shift. Rota out two weeks ahead on your phone. Full training on cellar, cocktails and tills. Experience welcome but not essential. Call Sarah on [number] or reply with your availability.

3. Look where bar staff actually are

• Your own team. Ask them first. People recommend friends who'll fit, and they don't want to work with someone unreliable. Many pubs pay a referral bonus once the new person passes probation.
• Your regulars. A notice on the bar and a word with the regulars reaches people who already like your pub.
• Local colleges and universities. Student job boards and careers services. Students want evenings and weekends, which is exactly your trade. Plan for exam season and summer holidays.
• Job sites and social media. Wider reach, more applications to sift. Post on your pub's own social channels too; your followers already know you.
• A sign in the window. Still works for local pubs, especially in towns and villages.
• Former staff. Good people who left on good terms sometimes come back, especially for weekend shifts.

Keep a note of where each hire came from. After a year you'll know which channel finds people who stay.

4. Reply fast

Speed is the cheapest recruitment advantage you have. Good bar staff are usually applying to several places at once. Reply to every promising applicant within a day, ideally with an interview time in the next two or three days. If you take a week, they've started somewhere else.

5. Keep the interview short and lawful

Fifteen to twenty minutes is enough for most bar roles. Good questions:

• "Which days and times can you work, and is anything changing in the next few months?"
• "Tell me about a busy shift you've worked. What did you do when it got really busy?"
• "A customer who's clearly had enough asks for another pint. What do you do?"
• "Someone who looks under 25 asks for a drink. What happens next?"
• "What would make you leave a job like this?"

Don't ask about protected characteristics. GOV.UK specifically says not to ask whether candidates are married, single or in a civil partnership, or whether they have or plan to have children. You can only ask about health or disability in limited situations, such as finding out whether someone needs help to take part in the interview or a test. Ask about availability instead, which is what you actually need to know.

6. Run a paid trial shift

A trial shift shows you how someone handles a real bar, and shows them what it's like to work for you. Do it properly:

• Pay it. GOV.UK says someone on a "trial" may still be a worker entitled to the minimum wage. A trial of a few hours may be reasonable unpaid, but one lasting longer than a day is likely to need paying in all but very exceptional circumstances. Paying every trial at your normal rate avoids the argument and shows you're a fair employer.
• Keep it short. Two to four hours on a moderately busy shift, not your worst Saturday.
• Pair them up. With your best bartender, who you ask afterwards: "Would you want to work with them?"
• Look for the basics. Do they smile, listen, ask questions, keep moving, notice an empty glass?

7. Under-18s behind the bar

16 and 17-year-olds can be great glass collectors, food runners and, with care, bar staff. The rules:

• Selling alcohol (England and Wales). Under the Licensing Act 2003, an under-18 can sell or supply alcohol only if each sale is specifically approved by a responsible person (the premises licence holder, the designated premises supervisor, or an adult authorised by either), except for alcohol sold for drinking with a table meal in a part of the premises used for table meals.
• Hours. No more than 8 hours a day or 40 a week, a 30-minute break after 4.5 hours, and never between midnight and 4am.

See our full guide to young workers in pubs and bars.

8. Scotland: training before selling alcohol

In Scotland, the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 says staff can't sell alcohol until they've had the prescribed training. The Licensing (Training of Staff) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 set this at a minimum of two hours, delivered by a personal licence holder or someone with a qualifying qualification, and a record of the training must be kept on the premises while the person works there. Build it into the new starter's first week, before their first solo shift on the bar.

9. Checks and paperwork before the first shift

• Right to work. Check before they start, using one of the Home Office-approved methods, and keep a dated record. The Home Office updated its employer's guide on 1 October 2026. Our right to work checks guide explains the options.
• Written statement. GOV.UK says employees and workers must get a written statement of the main terms (pay, hours, holiday, probation and more) on or before their first day. See our staff handbook template.
• Payroll details. Bank details, National Insurance number, starter checklist for your payroll provider.
• Flexible working. Employees can request flexible working from their first day (GOV.UK). Good to know when someone's availability changes in their second month.

10. The first two weeks decide whether they stay

You've spent time and money finding them. Don't lose them in the first fortnight.

• Rota them quickly. A new hire who waits ten days for a first shift often takes another job.
• Plan a real induction. Fire exits, cellar safety, allergens, Challenge 25 or your age policy, tills, cashing up. Use our staff induction checklist.
• Buddy them with an experienced bartender for the first few shifts.
• Give them their hours. If you promised 20 hours, deliver 20 hours.
• Check in. A five-minute chat at the end of week one and week two.
• Hold proper probation reviews. Acas recommends regular, honest, one-to-one reviews, with notes shared afterwards. From 1 January 2027, Acas says employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal after six months' service, down from two years, so probation conversations matter more than ever.

For keeping people long-term, see our guide to reducing staff turnover.

Bar staff recruitment checklist

• Shifts, hours, level and pay decided
• Advert leads with pay, shifts and genuine reasons to join; no age-coded wording
• Posted to team, regulars, local colleges, job sites, social and window
• Every good applicant contacted within a day
• Short interview with lawful questions
• Paid trial shift with your best bartender
• Under-18 rules checked (and Scottish alcohol training, if in Scotland)
• Right to work checked before day one
• Written statement given on or before day one
• First shift within a week; induction and buddy planned
• Week-one and week-two check-ins booked

Getting new starters going in ShiftComplete

ShiftComplete isn't a recruitment tool, but it makes the first fortnight much smoother. Add your new bartender to the team and they can set their availability from their phone straight away, see their first shifts under My rota as soon as you publish, and read the team announcements with the house rules. Put their trial and first shifts in a "Bar" area alongside their buddy, add a day note ("Jess's first Saturday, with Tom"), and add the induction items as one-off tasks so each tick is named and timestamped.

Because staff come and go, pricing is per person: £1.49 per staff member per month, with no contracts and the option to remove staff at any time. Try it free for 60 days, no card needed.