Hi all,
I'm coming to england on a working holiday for 1 year. I have been offered temp employment in a pub at 4.50 pounds/hour which I understand is the min wage. My questions are:
1. How much would be lost to tax etc: from that rate(i.e. what do I take home?)
2. In the blurb for the job it says that you can earn 5-30 pounds per day in tips, yet somewhere here I read that you never tip for having an ale poured.
3. if accom is not included with the job, how much would I expect to pay for digs with average facilities per week/month?
4. What would be a realistic budget per day for food and transport without touching the breadline?
After the year is up I plan to travel europe for the next 9-12 months and would like to work out how much I would need to supplement to the costs over and above what I would be able to save during the working year.
I'm sure there are plenty folk out there who have done just this. Any help will be great
How old are you? The minimum wage varies according to age:
£5.35 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older
A development rate of £4.45 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive
1 - that depends how many hours you work, as you are allowed to earn up to a certain amount without paying tax. Once you reach the taxable amount, average about 25% off for tax and NI.
2. It is virtually unknown to earn tips as a bar tender as, you are right, it is not customary here to tip bar staff. My son works as a barman and he has received just over £5 in tips over the past 8 months total. If you work in a pub serving tourists that don't know that we don't tip in pubs, you might get some.
3. Room in shared house approx £300 a month, depending on where you are.
4. Transport, we can't say without knowing where you'll be travelling. Food - about £25 a week.
I don't think you'll save much money here so bring as much as you can for your later travels. Barwork isn't exactly well-paid and will just about keep you.
I'd be a bit suspicious of any company that claims in its blurb that barstaff earn up to £30 a day in tips here.
Also, you should be able to find pubs that pay you more than that. My son earns just over £5 an hour.
Nona1 is completely right about the tips situation. If we want to 'thank' bar staff we offer to buy them a beer, we never leave a tip. If it's more of a food pub rather than just a drinking pub and you were serving food rather than just being behind the bar you might get some tips.
Your living costs are going to depend on what area of the country you are moving to.
The keyword being "might" in relation to getting tips where food is also served. If i was on a WHV and looking at the min' wage for bar work, i don't believe i'd be able to afford to do anything but work to be quite honest.
Having worked as a waitress and behind the bar albeit when the min wage was lower, i certainly could not have afforded to move out of home.... if you can type i'd try office temping - the hours are better, the conditions are usually better and the pay is certainly better!
Depends what kind of place you're in. I used to earn about £30 in tips on a Friday and again on a Saturday night working at a fairly 'trendy' bar in Birmingham city centre but I've never really heard of anyone getting tips working in a pub. How much rent you pay and how much food and traqnsport costs depends massively on where you live. Let us know where you're planning to stay and I'll give you a break down of costs if it helps. If you're living in London, add at least a third extra on top of whatever sum of money people tell you living costs will be. A lot of pubs and bars feed their staff on duty which, if you really stuff your face, could save you a lot of money.
In general though, it sounds like this place is not offering you a very good wage so look around.
Basically, don't expect to be able to save anything for your trip if you are working at minimum wage.
The free food is a good point though - my son's actually the barman in a restaurant, and he gets a lovely free dinner everytime he is on shift, about 4 times a week, and that keeps his bills down.
Where in England are you going to be? If London you will struggle on minimum wage.
For working out the tax and national insurance you will have to pay then use this website
#3, quite often when ou offer to buy staffa drink in a bar they take a "set amount" out of your change and use this as a tip rather than actually buying a drink with it
Thanks all for your replies. I would be in london itself, but based on what you have told me, pubs/bars seem like they should be given a miss. I would go for the typing thing but, being male, I dont think i'd pass the grade. Does anyone have any suggestions for alternative employment that pays better. I really dont want to set out on a venture which is financially flawed
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