Catering Assistant

NHS; Frimley; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the UK is seeking enthusiastic Catering Assistants to join their team at Frimley Park Hospital. In this role, you will serve food and beverages, assist with food preparation, and ensure a high-quality catering service for patients and staff. This hands-on position requires excellent communication skills and a proactive approach to hygiene and customer care. Full training is provided, making it ideal for candidates eager to grow within a supportive team environment.

Qualifications

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment.
• Understanding of food safety protocols (HACCP).
• Experience of working in a Kitchen/Restaurant environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve food and beverages to patients and staff.
• Assist with food preparation including chopping vegetables.
• Help deliver and collect meal trolleys to wards.

Skills

Communication skills

Self-motivation

Teamwork

Education

Good level of basic education

Level 2 Food Safety Certificate

Job description

We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated Catering Assistants to join our busy and rewarding Catering team in Frimley Park Hospital. In this role, you will help deliver a professional, high-quality catering service to patients, staff, and visitors across the hospital.

As a Catering Assistant, you will play an important part in ensuring a positive experience for everyone you serve. Your day-to-day tasks may include serving in patient and staff dining areas, assisting with food preparation, delivering meals to wards, operating tills, and supporting the smooth running of the department.

This is a hands‑on role in a fast‑paced environment, ideal for someone who enjoys working as part of a team but is also confident taking responsibility for individual tasks. You must be committed to maintaining high standards of customer service, cleanliness, and food hygiene in line with Trust policies.

Three different shifts are available - working five days out of seven days a week - 37.5 hours per week from 7:00am‑15:00pm or 11:00 till 19:00 or 20 hours per week from 17:00pm‑21:00pm or Saturday and Sunday - 8 hours per week from 17:00pm‑21:00pm.

Previous catering experience and a Food Safety Certificate are desirable but not essential, as full training will be provided. As part of the recruitment process, candidates will be required to complete a Maths and English assessment to progress to interview.

Main duties of the job

Food Service: Serve food and beverages to patients and staff in dining areas and on the patient meal assembly belt, ensuring quality and presentation are top‑notch.

Support in Food Prep: Assist with food preparation, including chopping vegetables, prepping salads, and ensuring proper portion control.

Deliver Meals: Help deliver and collect meal trolleys to wards and departments, ensuring everything runs on time.

Customer Care: Greet all visitors, staff, and patients with a warm, friendly approach, ensuring their needs are met with professionalism and care.

Cash Handling: Operate cash registers, handling transactions with accuracy, ensuring cash security, and providing excellent service to retail customers.

About us

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first‑class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.

Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.

Frimley Health Trust benefits on Vimeo

Job responsibilities

As a Catering Assistant, you’ll be part of a dedicated and friendly team, working across the main patient service area and Pinetree's restaurant. You will contribute to a range of exciting duties, from food preparation and serving to helping maintain cleanliness and hygiene standards. Every day, you’ll have the opportunity to make a real impact by supporting the smooth running of our services and ensuring our customers receive the best care possible.

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification for further information.

What we’re looking for:

A team player with a positive, can‑do attitude who enjoys working in a fast‑paced, customer‑focused environment.

A proactive approach to maintaining high standards of hygiene, food presentation, and portion control.

A willingness to assist with food preparation and a good understanding of food safety protocols (HACCP).

Excellent communication skills and the ability to engage with a diverse group of people, from patients to staff and visitors.

Flexibility to assist in various duties and areas as needed, from food service to cashier tasks.

At Pinetree, we value innovation and customer care. As part of our team, you will have the chance to make meaningful contributions, whether it’s suggesting improvements or supporting the continued growth of our services. Plus, we’ll provide you with training and development to help you grow in your role.

If you are looking for a rewarding role where every day is different and you can be part of a close‑knit, supportive team, we’d love to hear from you.

Please ensure you have the right to work in the UK before applying as we cannot provide sponsorship for this role.

We reserve the right to close the advert early if sufficient applications have been received.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Good level of basic education – able to demonstrate literacy, numeracy, and comprehension skills
• Level 2 Food Safety Certificate
• COSHH and Moving and Handling and Food/Kitchen hygiene training.

Experience

• Experience of working in a Kitchen/Restaurant environment.
• Experience in healthcare
• Experience of Infection Prevention and Control
• Customer care experience
• Experience of working in a Kitchen/Restaurant environment

Skills

• Good communication skills – able to read and understand written and verbal communication and instruction
• Self‑motivated and disciplined with good time management skills

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.