Staffing & Wages
How Much Should a Restaurant Spend on Wages?
Compare labour costs against turnover and identify when staffing is damaging profitability.
July 16, 20258 min readIsla Trent · Bar & restaurant consultant
Wage percentage is labour cost as a share of net turnover. It's the second-biggest line in nearly every hospitality P&L and the one operators tend to feel guilty about controlling.
Realistic targets
- Quick-service / café: 22–28% - Casual dining: 26–32% - Gastro pub: 28–34% - Fine dining: 32–40%
Bars sit lower on labour if the food side is small. Wet-led venues can run at 18–24%.
What to include (all of it)
Base pay, employer NI, pension contributions, holiday accrual, staff meals, training time and any bonus scheme. Anything less understates the real cost.
Where operators go wrong
Fixed rotas on variable trade. A steady 30 hours of chef time on a shift that swings between 40 covers and 120 covers turns "reasonable staffing" into either burn-out or shrinkage.