Hospitality staff are lowest paid

Kitchen porters are the lowest-paid full-time workers in the UK, according to a government report.

The Labour Market Trends research document Patterns of Pay: Results of the 2000 New Earnings Survey, issued by the Office for National Statistics, reveals that kitchen porters received average gross pay of £184.10p a week last year.

Bar staff came next, earning 20p more each week. This compared with £1,059 a week for treasurers and company financial managers, the highest-paid workers.

Waiters and waitresses earned £189 a week, and catering assistants received £196.

The average gross weekly earnings for chefs and cooks ranged from £237 to £273.

Across the industry, the average weekly pay for full-time hotel and restaurant workers was £271 - £15 a week less than the average in agriculture.

The hotel and restaurant industry again came bottom in average gross annual earnings.

The report found employees working in the finance sector earned an average of £29,774 in the 1999-2000 tax year - twice the average salary earned by hospitality staff.

Average gross annual full-time pay for workers across all industries in Britain was £21,842, and average gross weekly pay was £411.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 15-21 March 2001