Waiter job description template
The floor job as a small restaurant runs it: set the room, take the orders, carry the plates, read the tables, and leave the section ready for tomorrow. Written for evening service and easy to change for a day one.
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| Position | Waiter, also called a food and beverage attendant |
| Reports to | Floor supervisor, and the owner on quiet nights |
| Employment type | Part time, 20 ordinary hours a week over agreed days, with extra hours offered when the room is busy |
| Where the work happens | The dining room, the terrace and the service station |
| Hours and roster | Wednesday to Sunday evenings, from 5:00pm, finishing between 10:00pm and 11:30pm depending on the last table. |
| What the job involves | Set the room before service and check every table setting. Greet and seat guests, and keep the door moving when the room is full. Take orders on the point of sale, including allergy and dietary notes passed clearly to the kitchen. Run food and drinks, and clear as you go. Know the menu and the specials well enough to answer a question without checking. Take payments and cash off the till. Reset the room, restock the station and take the linen out at close. |
| A typical shift | On at 17:00: check the section, polish glassware, fold linen, read the specials with the kitchen. Doors at 18:00. Steady service to 20:30, the busiest stretch between 19:00 and 20:00. Last orders at 21:30. Clear and reset from 22:00, cash off, out by 23:00. |
| Skills and experience | Has worked a section in a restaurant or busy cafe. Carries three plates and reads a table. Stays even tempered when the room is full and the kitchen is behind. |
| Tickets and certificates | A Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate where the role serves alcohol. It is issued by the state or territory, and which one is required depends on where the venue trades. |
| Physical demands | On your feet for the whole shift, carrying plates and trays, and clearing at pace. |
| Pay and award | Paid at the rate in your letter of engagement. Restaurant and cafe floor work is usually covered by the Restaurant Industry Award or the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, and the award’s coverage clause decides which. The classification in that award decides the rate. |
| How the job is reviewed | A check in at three months on service, menu knowledge and how the section is handed over, then yearly. |
| Review date of this description | Reviewed each March, or when the menu or the room changes. |
What is in the file
- Template, blank, with each section down the side and room for the answer.
- Example, the same sheet filled in for Wharf Road Kitchen.
- How to use, with the steps and the mistakes below.
How to fill it in
- Set the days and the finish times to what your service actually runs to.
- Say whether the role serves alcohol, because that decides whether a certificate is needed.
- Check the duties against the award’s classification definitions before setting the rate.
- Hand it over before the first shift, not after it.
Common mistakes
- A finish time written as “close”, which is not a time anybody can plan around
- Leaving the set up and reset out, so the shift looks shorter than it is
- Assuming a certificate is held rather than sighting it and recording the expiry
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
Roster Flow records a certificate’s expiry against the person, so a Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate that lapses is flagged before they are rostered on the bar.
Questions
What is on the waiter job description template?
13 sections down the side, running from position to review date of this description. The example beside them is filled in for Wharf Road Kitchen: floor service from setting up to cashing off, for a restaurant or cafe.
Does the waiter job description template work anything out for you?
No. It is a document with 13 sections to answer in your own words, not a calculator. Nothing on it is a formula.
Can I use the waiter job description template in Google Sheets?
Yes. Open waiter-job-description.xlsx from Google Drive, or use File, then Import, then Upload with waiter-job-description.csv. The document and its example come across either way.
Is the wording in the waiter job description template ready to use as it is?
The waiter job description template is a starting point for Wharf Road Kitchen or any business like it, to adapt rather than sign. The wording was checked against the official sources on 22 September 2026, it is not legal advice, and it has not been through a workplace relations professional.