jobfacts

Bar and catering supervisors

SOC 2020 9261

Bar and catering supervisors oversee operations and directly supervise and coordinate the activities of those working in the catering industry, in bars, restaurants and other establishments.

Also calledCafe supervisorChief stewardUnit supervisorCar inspectorHospitality supervisorHead barpersonand 22 more titles
Typical full-time pay£26,0002025 Provisional
People in the job65,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month1,600↓ 9.7%on last year · 114th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time bar and catering supervisors earn between £22,600 and £29,800 a year.

What full-time bar and catering supervisors earn, 2025
£26,000 typical£19,500lowest 10%£22,60025%£29,80075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£22,600–£29,800)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£19,500
Lowest 20% earn less than£21,800
25%£22,600
Median£26,000
75%£29,800
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £26,000
London!£31,000
Scotland!£27,300
East of England!£27,000
West Midlands!£26,700
South West!£25,000
East Midlands!£24,200
South East!£23,800
Wales!£23,100
Yorkshire and The Humber!£23,100
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £26,000
London£31,000 (small sample)
Scotland£27,300 (small sample)
East of England£27,000 (small sample)
West Midlands£26,700 (small sample)
South West£25,000 (small sample)
East Midlands£24,200 (small sample)
South East£23,800 (small sample)
Wales£23,100 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£23,100 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £22,600
  • 2024 £23,400
  • 2025 Provisional£26,000
↑ 15% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,600 jobs for bar and catering supervisors 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 20261,493
Jul 20261,642
Jun 20261,493
May 20261,760
Apr 20261,710
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,601
Jan 20261,751
Dec 2025903
Nov 20251,738
Oct 20251,980
Sept 20251,991
Aug 20251,984
Jul 20251,956
Jun 20251,972
May 20252,140
Apr 20251,871
Mar 20252,054
Feb 20251,870
Jan 20251,666
Dec 2024854
Nov 20241,632
Oct 20242,033
Sept 20242,019
Aug 20242,121
Jul 20242,104
Jun 20241,935
May 20242,486
Apr 20242,078
Mar 20241,551
Feb 20241,518
Jan 20241,487
Dec 20231,153
Nov 20231,186
Oct 20231,320
Sept 20231,389
Aug 20231,732
Jul 20231,493
Jun 20232,010
May 20232,137
Apr 20231,841
Mar 20232,038
Feb 20232,008
Jan 20232,161
Dec 20221,622
Nov 20222,103
Oct 20222,572
Sept 20222,339
Aug 20222,449
Jul 20222,403
Jun 20222,229
May 20222,626
Apr 20222,065
Mar 20222,502
Feb 20222,184
Jan 20222,182
Dec 20211,556
Nov 20211,824
Oct 20211,782
Sept 20212,371
Aug 20211,987
Jul 20212,083
Jun 20211,889
May 20211,735
Apr 20211,334
Mar 20211,895
Feb 2021558
Jan 2021500
Dec 2020499
Nov 2020595
Oct 2020730
Sept 2020772
Aug 2020758
Jul 2020641
Jun 2020574
May 2020359
Apr 2020404
Mar 20201,088
Feb 20201,722
Jan 20201,694
Dec 20191,133
Nov 20191,669
Oct 20191,641
Sept 20191,803
Aug 20191,599
Jul 20191,600
Jun 20191,580
May 20191,653
Apr 20191,358
Mar 20191,424
Feb 20191,377
Jan 20191,331
Dec 2018983
Nov 20181,457
Oct 20181,686
Sept 20181,686
Aug 20181,427
Jul 20181,504
Jun 20181,716
May 20181,495
Apr 20181,333
Mar 20181,571
Feb 20181,293
Jan 20181,559
Dec 20171,020
Nov 20171,381
Oct 20171,459
Sept 20171,716
Aug 20171,890
Jul 20171,656
Jun 20172,109
May 20172,515
Apr 20172,323
Mar 20172,138
Feb 20171,809
Jan 20171,786
Is there a shortage of bar and catering supervisors?
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 advertsAbove usual
  • 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
24%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London920
Manchester102
Birmingham85
City of Edinburgh83
Glasgow City81
Cornwall70
North Yorkshire69
Bristol, City of65
Liverpool56
Leeds54
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where bar and catering supervisors 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 bar and catering supervisors
35%!
26%!
17%!
10%!
10%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2435% (small sample)
25–3426% (small sample)
35–4417% (small sample)
45–5410% (small sample)
55–6410% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent28%
Higher education below degree!5%
A levels or equivalent33%
GCSEs or equivalent23%
Other qualifications!4.7%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent28%
Higher education below degree5% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent33%
GCSEs or equivalent23%
Other qualifications4.7% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: restaurants and mobile food service activities (31%), beverage serving activities (21%), event catering activities (15%), hotels and similar accommodation (6.7%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
28%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 33%
Apprenticeships
1
from level 3
Apprenticeships take
1 year
typically

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/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • directly supervises and coordinates the activities of bar, waiting and catering staff
  • establishes and monitors work schedules to meet the organisation’s requirements
  • liaises with managers and other senior staff to resolve operational problems
  • determines or recommends staffing and other needs to meet the organisation’s requirements
  • reports as required to managerial staff on work-related matters

Skills

  • carry out stock rotation
  • clean kitchen equipment
  • clean surfaces
  • comply with food safety and hygiene
  • dispose waste
  • ensure cleanliness of food preparation area
  • handle chemical cleaning agents
  • handover the food preparation area
  • maintain a safe, hygienic and secure working environment
  • report on possible hazards
  • use food cutting tools
  • use food preparation techniques
  • work in a hospitality team
  • comply with standard portion sizes

Suits people who like

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

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary administration and service occupations, a group of 26 jobs that includes bar and catering supervisors.
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.