September 7, 2026 · ← Blogg

Staffing a new restaurant — roles, rotas and cost

Wages are the biggest cost in a restaurant. In Norwegian food service businesses, staff costs typically run at 30–40 percent of revenue, and for new places often higher in the first year because revenue has not yet caught up. Getting staffing wrong at the start is therefore the fastest route to red numbers: too few people means poor service and burnt-out owners, too many eats the whole margin. This article covers what you actually need in terms of people for different concepts, what an employee costs you beyond the hourly wage, which rules apply to pay and working hours, and how to use part-time, casual staff and technology to keep costs down without guests noticing.

Minimum staffing per concept

Start by thinking in shifts, not in full-time equivalents. How many people need to be on at the same time for the operation to work on a normal day and on the busiest day?

Café (30–40 seats, simple food, counter service): 2 people on a quiet shift, 3–4 in the lunch rush. One on coffee and till, one on food and restocking, plus one extra in the rush. The owner often covers one of the shifts. In total 3–5 FTEs including the owner for opening hours 08–18 seven days a week.

Restaurant (50–70 seats, à la carte, table service): kitchen with 2–3 on each evening shift (head chef or chef, cook, kitchen assistant/dishwasher), front of house with 2–3 (one server per 15–20 guests for table service is a common rule), plus bar if there is a separate bar. That gives 5–7 on a full evening shift and 8–12 FTEs for a restaurant open six days a week for lunch and dinner.

Bar or pub (with no or simple food): 1 on quiet evenings, 2–3 on Friday and Saturday, plus security if required by the licence or the municipality. 4–6 FTEs in total, with a large share of part-time and weekend staff.

The key point is that staffing needs vary enormously through the week. A restaurant may need 3 people on a Tuesday and 8 on a Saturday. The solution is a fixed full-time core and a flexible part-time group covering the peaks.

The roles and what they actually do

Head chef: responsible for menu, purchasing, food cost, kitchen staffing, food safety (IK-mat) and quality. In a small restaurant this is often the owner or a partner. Salary level in Norway 2026: roughly NOK 520,000–650,000 a year, higher in Oslo and for experienced people.

Cook: produces food to the head chef's recipes, is responsible for their station and for prep. A qualified cook with a trade certificate typically earns NOK 430,000–520,000, unqualified less. There is a shortage of qualified cooks across the country, so expect it to take time to find good ones.

Server: welcomes guests, takes orders, serves, handles payment and is the face of the place. With table service also sales — a good server clearly lifts the average order. Pay NOK 380,000–450,000 plus tips. Many work part-time alongside studies.

Bartender: drinks, bar stock and often the till. With an alcohol licence, at least one person who has passed the serving knowledge test must be present throughout opening hours, and the licence holder's manager and deputy must have passed it. Pay roughly the same as a server.

Dishwasher and kitchen assistant: the most underrated role. Without dishwashing, everything stops. Often part-time and the entry point for people without experience. Many restaurants combine dishwashing with simple prep and cleaning.

In most new restaurants the owner covers at least two of these roles in the first year. That is fine, but plan for it not being sustainable beyond 12–18 months.

The national agreement and the generally applied minimum wage

The hotel and food service sector in Norway is one of the industries with a generally applied (allmenngjort) minimum wage. That means there is a regulation setting a minimum hourly wage that applies to all employees in the sector, whether or not the business has a collective agreement. The rate is adjusted regularly, often annually, and distinguishes between workers over and under 20 and with and without experience. Check the current rate with the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) before setting pay — they always have up-to-date figures and guidance at arbeidstilsynet.no.

The generally applied wage is a floor, not a normal level. In the cities, market pay for experienced people is well above the minimum, and you will not get good servers or cooks on minimum wage in Oslo, Bergen or Trondheim.

Riksavtalen is the collective agreement between the Fellesforbundet union and NHO Reiseliv for hotels and restaurants. It only applies if the business is bound by it (via NHO Reiseliv membership or a separate agreement), but in practice it is the reference for pay levels, supplements for evening, night and weekend work, and for how shifts and rotas are organised. Many new businesses follow its rates voluntarily because it makes recruitment easier and gives clear rules for supplements.

Regardless of agreement: all employees must have a written employment contract before they start, stating percentage of full-time, pay, working hours and probation period. Arbeidstilsynet inspects the sector frequently, and missing contracts and pay below the generally applied rate are among the most common violations.

What an employee actually costs: employer's contribution and holiday pay

The hourly wage is only the start. To find the real cost per employee you need to add several things.

Employer's national insurance contribution (arbeidsgiveravgift): a tax to the state calculated on gross pay. The rate varies by where the business is located (zones), and in zone 1 — which covers Oslo and most large cities — it is about 14.1 percent. In rural districts it is lower, down to zero in Finnmark and Nord-Troms. Check which zone your municipality is in with the Tax Administration (Skatteetaten).

Holiday pay (feriepenger): minimum 10.2 percent of the previous year's pay, and 12 percent if the business gives five weeks of holiday (as Riksavtalen and most collective agreements do). Holiday pay is normally paid out in June the following year, but the cost must be booked in the year it is earned. Remember that employer's contribution is also charged on holiday pay.

Mandatory occupational pension (OTP): at least 2 percent of pay between 0 and 12 G for all employees from the first krone (the rule changed in 2022). With employer's contribution on the pension as well.

Occupational injury insurance, sick leave (the employer covers the first 16 days), training time, uniforms and welfare come on top.

Worked example: a server on NOK 400,000 a year costs you roughly 400,000 + 48,000 (holiday pay 12%) + 8,000 (OTP) = 456,000, plus employer's contribution of about 14.1% on that = around NOK 520,000. The rule of thumb is that real cost is gross pay times 1.3. Use 1.35 if you want room for sick leave and training.

Rota planning and working time rules

The Working Environment Act sets the framework for working hours, and it applies in restaurants too. The main rules: normally up to 9 hours per day and 40 hours per week, or 38 hours for shift work that includes Sundays and nights. Averaging can be agreed — for example longer weeks in season and shorter otherwise — but only within set limits and with a written agreement, and larger deviations require a collective agreement or consent from Arbeidstilsynet.

Rest: at least 11 consecutive hours off between two work periods and at least 35 consecutive hours off in the course of a week. This is the rule most often broken in restaurants, because someone closes at 01:00 and opens at 10:00. Plan the rota so it does not happen.

Overtime is triggered when working beyond agreed hours within the legal limits, and must be paid with at least a 40 percent supplement. Breaks: at least half an hour when the working day exceeds 5.5 hours; if the employee cannot leave the workplace during the break, the break must be paid.

Sunday and night work is permitted in food service because the sector is exempt from the main rule, but as a starting point every other Sunday should be off. Employees under 18 have separate and stricter rules.

The rota must be in writing, discussed with employees and made known at least two weeks before it starts. Use a simple scheduling tool from day one — there are several Norwegian services built for food service that handle supplements, overtime and averaging automatically. A spreadsheet works for three employees, not for ten.

Part-time, casual staff and agency hire

Because demand varies so much through the week, most food service businesses build on a core of full-time staff and a larger group of part-timers. Students are the classic workforce: flexible, often capable and happy to take weekend shifts. The downside is high turnover and exam periods when many want time off at once.

Be careful with casual on-call staff without a fixed percentage of full-time. The Working Environment Act has become stricter: the main rule is permanent employment, and an on-call arrangement is only legal if there is a genuine, temporary need. If an on-call worker in practice works every weekend for months, she can claim a permanent position matching actual hours worked. The solution is rather many small permanent positions — 20, 30, 40 percent — with predictable shifts. Part-time employees also have priority for extended hours when you need more, before you hire new people.

Hiring from staffing agencies has been sharply restricted in Norway in recent years and is mainly only permitted for genuine temporary cover (sickness, leave). It is expensive — often 1.6–2 times the wage cost — and suits short, unexpected gaps best. Basing the operation on agency staff is neither legal nor profitable.

Whatever the category: written employment contract, pay at or above the generally applied rate, and registration in the Aa register (employer and employee register) via the a-melding. Your accountant or payroll system does this for you, but you are responsible.

Training, HSE and food safety (IK-mat)

A new employee in food service typically needs 2–4 weeks before being productive, and that time must be in the budget. Make a simple training plan: day 1 safety and routines, week 1 shadowing an experienced colleague, week 2 own tasks with support, weeks 3–4 full responsibility. Write down the routines — opening, closing, cleaning, deviations — so training does not depend on one person remembering everything.

HSE (HMS) is a legal requirement for all employers. You must have an internal control system for health, safety and environment suited to the size of the business: risk assessment (fire, sharp tools, hot surfaces, slippery floors, violence and threats in bars), training, and a routine for reporting and following up deviations. Businesses with five or more employees must have a safety representative (can be waived in writing under ten employees). The employer is also required to have completed HSE training personally.

IK-mat is the Food Safety Authority's (Mattilsynet) requirement for internal food safety control: routines for temperature, cleaning, personal hygiene, allergens, traceability and handling deviations, and documentation that the routines are followed. Everyone handling food must be trained in this, and it must be demonstrable at inspection. Mattilsynet's smiley scheme publishes inspection results on the front door — a sour face costs guests.

Neither HSE nor IK-mat needs to be a heavy system. A folder with routines, checklists and a temperature log is enough for a small restaurant, as long as it is actually used.

How digital ordering relieves the front of house

The largest staffing cost in a table-service restaurant is servers, and a large part of a server's time goes to logistics, not to guests: walking to the table to take the order, walking to the till to enter it, walking back to take the second round of drinks, fetching the bill, fetching the terminal. Industry studies estimate that 30–40 percent of a server's time is this kind of transport.

Digital ordering via a QR code on the table moves that part to the guest. The guest reads the menu when it suits them, orders rounds two and three without waiting to be noticed, and pays when they are done. The server spends their time carrying out food, recommending, solving problems and creating atmosphere — the things that actually generate tips and good reviews.

The effect on staffing is concrete. Places that have introduced table ordering typically report that one server handles 20–30 percent more tables at the same service level, and that sales of drinks and extra dishes increase because the guest orders without having to wait. For a new restaurant that can mean the difference between three and four servers on a Saturday night — around NOK 500,000 a year in real wage cost.

Flowder is built for exactly this: QR menu with ordering straight from the table, a kitchen screen showing orders in sequence, and take-away in the same system. It suits cafés, casual restaurants, bars and places with outdoor seating best, where the guest is waiting to be noticed anyway. In fine dining with high server density the gain is smaller. The point is not to replace people, but to let the people you have do the part of the job that requires a human.

Checklist before the first payroll run

Before the first employee starts: business registered as an employer in the Aa register, occupational injury insurance in place, OTP agreement signed with a pension provider, payroll system or accountant in place, written employment contracts signed, tax cards retrieved electronically, HSE routines and IK-mat folder ready, and the rota for the first four weeks published.

Monthly: the a-melding is submitted by the 5th of the following month, with pay, tax withheld and employer's contribution. Tax and contributions are paid every other month. Holiday pay is accrued continuously.

And most importantly: budget staffing against expected revenue, not against hope. Set a limit for staff cost as a percentage of revenue (35 percent is a common target in à la carte, lower in cafés and fast food), track the number every week, and adjust the rota accordingly. Cutting a shift hurts, but closing hurts far more.

FAQ

How many employees does a small restaurant need?

A restaurant with 50–70 seats and table service typically needs 5–7 people on a full evening shift (2–3 in the kitchen, 2–3 front of house, possibly bar) and 8–12 FTEs in total for six-day operation. A café often manages with 3–5 FTEs including the owner.

What is the minimum wage in the restaurant industry in Norway?

Hotels and food service have a generally applied minimum wage, i.e. a statutory minimum hourly rate that applies to everyone regardless of collective agreement. The rate is adjusted regularly and varies by age and experience. Check the current rate with Arbeidstilsynet. Market pay in the cities is well above the minimum.

What does an employee cost beyond the wage?

Expect gross pay times 1.3–1.35. That covers holiday pay (10.2 or 12%), employer's national insurance contribution (about 14.1% in zone 1, lower in rural areas), mandatory occupational pension (at least 2%), occupational injury insurance and some sick leave and training.

How much can an employee work in a restaurant?

Normally up to 9 hours per day and 40 hours per week (38 for shifts including Sundays and nights), with at least 11 hours off between shifts and 35 consecutive hours off per week. Averaging can be agreed in writing within legal limits. Overtime is paid with at least a 40% supplement.

Can I use on-call casual staff instead of permanent employees?

Only for a genuine temporary need. The main rule is permanent employment, and an on-call worker who works every weekend can claim a permanent position. Use several small permanent part-time positions with predictable shifts instead.

How can digital ordering reduce the need for servers?

With QR ordering from the table, the server no longer has to walk to take orders, enter them in the till and fetch the bill — often 30–40% of their time. Places report one server handling 20–30% more tables, which can save a shift on busy evenings.