Hotels, restaurants and cleaning companies hire many workers without a degree. In the UK you can find work as a room attendant, kitchen helper, cook or cleaner. Many people start here because the work is easy to learn. This guide shows the jobs, the pay in the UK, the papers you need and the safe way to apply.
Read this first: since July 2025 the UK gives its main work visa only for jobs at degree level. For most jobs without a degree there is no work visa any more. Two things are still open: seasonal farm and poultry work, and a short list of trade jobs. This guide shows what is real.
| Work visa for hotel, kitchen and cleaning helpers | Not available |
|---|---|
| Who gets these jobs | People who already have the right to work in the UK |
| Legal minimum pay | £12.71 an hour for age 21 or more (from April 2026) |
| What is open | Seasonal farm and poultry work |
| Hours | Shifts, weekends and holidays |
The main jobs
- Room attendant or housekeeper. You clean hotel rooms, change the beds, clean the bathroom and bring fresh towels. You work fast, because each room has a time limit.
- Kitchen helper or dishwasher. You wash dishes and pots, clean the kitchen and help the cooks to prepare food.
- Cook. You prepare meals. This job needs kitchen experience and often training, and it pays more.
- Cleaner. You clean offices, shops, hospitals, schools or buildings. The work is often early in the morning or in the evening.
- Waiter or service staff. You serve guests. For this you must speak the local language or English well.
The work is on your feet all day. Hotels and restaurants are busiest on weekends, in the evening and on holidays, so that is when you work.
Who can do this job
- You are fit, quick and careful with details.
- You are polite with guests and work well in a team.
- You accept shifts, weekends and holidays.
- You can speak and understand basic words in the local language or in English.
Past work in a hotel, a restaurant, a hospital or a private home helps. For cooks, proof of training and letters from past kitchens are very important. Men and women both do these jobs.
How much you can earn in the UK
Since 1 April 2026 the minimum wage in the UK for workers aged 21 or more is £12.71 an hour. It is called the National Living Wage. Room attendants, kitchen helpers and cleaners in the UK usually earn the minimum wage or a little more. In restaurants, staff share the tips, and the law says the employer must pass all tips to the workers.
The visa reality: hotel, kitchen helper and cleaning jobs cannot be sponsored. They are below the level that the Skilled Worker visa asks for. Offers for “hotel jobs in the UK with visa sponsorship” are a common trick. The only open way without a degree for most people is the Seasonal Worker visa for farm and poultry work.
If you have no degree and you want to work in Europe, look at countries that do have a legal way for you. Germany has short-term work of up to eight months, explained in our Germany work visa guide. Italy opens a quota of places each year, explained in our Italy work visa guide.
Hours and extras
Full-time work is about 40 hours a week, but the days change from week to week. Some hotels give staff a meal on each shift. Some resorts and hotels far from the city offer a room for staff. Always ask what the room and the meals cost, and get the answer in writing. Tips are possible in service jobs, but do not count on them.
What you need before you can work in the UK
The UK changed its rules on 22 July 2025. The main work visa, called the Skilled Worker visa, now asks for a job at university degree level and a salary of at least £41,700 a year in most cases. Since January 2026 it also asks for a higher level of English. Care worker jobs can no longer be given to new workers from abroad. For people without a degree, this is what is left:
- The Seasonal Worker visa. Work on farms that grow fruit, vegetables and flowers, for up to six months, or work with poultry from 2 October to 31 December. In 2026 there are 41,000 places for farm work and 1,900 for poultry, and the same number of farm places is planned for 2027. You do not need a degree or an English test.
- A short list of trade jobs. Some jobs below degree level, such as welders and some building trades, can still be sponsored because the UK lacks workers. The list in force now ends on 31 December 2026, and a shorter list is planned from 2027. Workers on this list cannot bring their family.
For both you need a sponsor with a licence from the UK government. For seasonal work, the sponsor is one of a few approved companies, called scheme operators, listed on GOV.UK. Nobody can promise you a visa.
Costs to plan for
For the Seasonal Worker visa you pay the visa fee of £340 yourself, and you pay your travel to the UK and back. There is no health charge for this visa. Seasonal workers usually live on the farm, in shared housing, and the law limits how much the farm can take from your pay for it. For the Skilled Worker visa the costs are much higher: the visa fee and a health charge of more than £1,000 for each year. Rent in the UK is high, above all in London. Plan your costs before you accept a job, so you know what you can save.
These are guides, not live vacancies. We are not an employer.
How to apply safely
- Read the Seasonal Worker visa page on GOV.UK and open the list of approved scheme operators.
- Apply on the website of an operator that recruits in your country. Applying to an operator is free.
- If you are chosen, the operator gives you a certificate of sponsorship number.
- Apply for the visa on GOV.UK yourself and pay the fee there, not to an agent.
- Travel only when you have the visa, and keep the operator’s phone number with you.
Mistakes to avoid
- Accepting a job where the room and food are taken from your pay, without knowing the amount.
- Working extra hours without a record. Write down your hours every day.
- Believing an advert that promises a hotel job with “no interview”. Real hotels always speak to you first.
- Paying for a uniform, a “training” or a job offer in advance.
Your rights as a worker in the UK
- You must get at least the minimum wage and a payslip that shows your hours and what was taken from your pay.
- Seasonal workers must be paid for at least 32 hours a week.
- Full-time workers have 28 days of paid holiday a year, counted by the time they work.
- Nobody can keep your passport, and you can leave a farm that treats you badly. You can ask your scheme operator to move you to another farm.
- You can report abuse to the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, and the service Acas gives free advice about work.
Protect yourself from fake job offers
- Never pay for a certificate of sponsorship or for a job. Many people paid thousands of pounds for care and factory jobs that did not exist.
- Check every sponsor on the register of licensed sponsors on GOV.UK.
- For seasonal work, apply only to the approved scheme operators listed on GOV.UK. They do not charge you a fee to apply.
- Be careful with offers for warehouse, hotel, cleaning or driver jobs “with UK visa”. These jobs cannot be sponsored.
Questions people ask
Can I get a hotel or cleaning job in the UK without experience?
For starting jobs such as dishwasher, kitchen helper, room attendant or cleaner, often yes. Experience helps you get hired and is needed for cook jobs.
Do hotels give a room to staff?
Some do, mostly resorts and hotels in remote places. It is not a rule. Ask about the price and the conditions before you accept.
Can I get a UK work visa for factory, hotel, cleaning or driver work?
No. Since July 2025 these jobs cannot be sponsored for the Skilled Worker visa. The only open way without a degree for most people is seasonal farm or poultry work.
Can I go to the UK as a visitor and look for work?
You can visit, but you cannot work, and you cannot change a visitor visa into a work visa inside the UK.
More guides for the UK
- Factory jobs in the UK
- Driver jobs in the UK
- Construction jobs in the UK
- All jobs in the UK for foreign workers
- How to apply for jobs in the UK
- UK work visa guide
Last checked: November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and pay change, so always confirm on the official websites before you decide. We are not a recruiter and we never ask for money.
These are guides, not live vacancies. We are not an employer.