Kitchen Porter and Commis Chef Take-Home Pay 2026/27

Pay depends on age: from April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour, the 18–20 rate is £10.85, and the 16–17 and apprentice rate is £8.00 — kitchen porters and commis chefs are paid at least the rate for their age band.

Yes — tips, whether cash or card, are taxable income. Tips distributed through a formal tronc scheme are usually taxed through PAYE by the tronc operator, while cash tips kept directly by staff should still be declared, though in practice many small cash tips fall outside employer reporting.

A kitchen porter aged 21+ working 40 hours a week at £12.71 an hour earns £26,436.80 a year. Taxable income after the personal allowance is £13,866.80, giving income tax of £2,773. National Insurance at 8% on income above £12,570 is £1,109. Take-home pay is roughly £1,879 a month.

Yes — commis chef roles usually sit slightly above kitchen porter pay, reflecting the additional culinary training and food-preparation responsibility, though both are often paid close to the applicable National Minimum Wage band, especially early in a hospitality career.

No — evening, weekend and split-shift pay in hospitality is taxed exactly the same way as any other hours worked, since income tax and National Insurance apply to total earnings, not the time of day they were earned.

If an employer requires specific protective clothing or safety footwear and does not provide or reimburse it, staff can usually claim a flat-rate uniform and tools tax relief through HMRC, reducing taxable income by a fixed annual amount.