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The first catering shift - for many students, their very first real side job. What to expect is more predictable than you might think.
Catering assistants are deployed in restaurants, hotels, catering companies, at trade fairs, and at corporate events. Specific tasks include:
For catering assistant jobs, you don't need any formal qualification. What matters is resilience, friendliness, and reliability. If you handle food, you need a health certificate (Infektionsschutzbelehrung under § 43 IfSG) - it is mandatory before your first assignment. A first aid certificate is a plus. You must be of legal age to serve alcohol.
Catering assistants placed through agencies like ucm.jobs receive a briefing before every assignment covering dress code, tasks, and workflows - no guessing on your first shift.
The hourly rate for catering assistants ranges from €13.90 to €17 gross depending on the task and client. Evening and weekend assignments often come with additional supplements. Event catering generally pays more than a classic restaurant shift.
Arrive 15 minutes earlier than agreed. Take the dress code seriously - in catering, details matter. Ask during the briefing if there's anything you're unsure about - better one too many questions than making a mistake in front of a guest. After the assignment, you rate the client and they rate you - good feedback opens the door to the next assignment.
Those who work as catering assistants need to engage with the topic of deductions from the start. The most common option for students is the mini-job: up to €603 per month (as of 2026) can be earned free of tax and social insurance contributions (source: Minijob-Zentrale). Beyond that, standard tax and social insurance law applies.
As an enrolled student, you have a second option: student employment status (Werkstudent). It allows higher earnings, provided working hours during the semester do not exceed 20 hours per week. During the lecture-free period, this limit does not apply. Most importantly: both models are legal and explicitly designed for the side job sector by the legislature.
Beyond mini-jobs and student employment status, there is a third relevant option: short-term employment (§ 8 para. 1 no. 2 SGB IV). It is limited to a maximum of 3 months or 70 working days per calendar year, but has no earnings cap - practical for one-off assignments such as trade fairs or seasonal peaks. Those placed through a staffing agency like ucm.jobs also work under temporary employment (AÜG): the agency is the formal employer, and the catering business is the host company.
§ 8 SGB IV governs the marginal employment threshold for mini-jobs. Those who exceed it on a sustained basis are automatically transferred into standard social insurance obligations - retrospectively, if the employer has to re-register them.
In practice, this means: keep an eye on your monthly income if you regularly take on shifts. A good staffing agency will proactively alert you before it becomes a problem. Students at ucm.jobs receive direct guidance on their individual tax status when they register.
Both routes work - but they differ significantly in effort and reliability. Those who approach restaurants or hotels directly spend a lot of time on applications, rejections, and waiting for callbacks. Those who book through a staffing agency have a dedicated point of contact, bundled assignment opportunities, and contractual security from the start.
In practice, the two routes are not mutually exclusive: many catering businesses employ a fixed core team directly and cover peak demand through a staffing agency on top of that - both models frequently run in parallel.
Especially for airport assignments and large-scale events, placement through an agency is the standard route - direct applications are rarely processed there. ucm.jobs places assistants with clients in catering, events, and at several German airports. The platform statistics show how active this market is.
Those who work as catering assistants at trade fairs or major events experience a different world from a classic restaurant. The pace is higher, assignments are often shorter, and clients are more professionally organized. At the same time, these assignments are often more lucrative - hourly rates of €15 to €17 gross are not uncommon, particularly at international fairs or congresses.
On a typical fair day, the assistant starts by setting up the catering area: arranging standing tables, preparing buffets, stocking fridges. During opening hours, drinks and snacks are served to exhibitors and visitors. The day ends with breakdown and disposal. Assignments are clearly structured - start and end times are fixed, overtime is the exception.
For students who need flexibility, this model is ideal: a single fair day delivers 8 to 10 hours of pay at once, often on a weekend, without weeks of commitment. Those who are regularly deployed at fairs quickly build up experience and are preferentially re-engaged. You can find more about assignments at trade fairs and congresses at ucm.jobs Trade Fairs and Congresses.
According to Statista, over 160 international trade fairs were held in Germany in 2023. Each of these events requires hundreds of catering assistants - a stable and plannable demand market for flexible workers.
The first assignment is the most important one - not because of the money, but because of the impression it creates. Clients in catering and events re-book assistants they know far more frequently. Those who arrive on time, take the briefing seriously, and complete the assignment cleanly are at the top of the placement database.
Those who present themselves professionally from the outset quickly build up a reliable network of clients in catering. This is particularly valuable for students who want to earn money flexibly over several semesters. The simplest first step: View the available catering assignments now and fill out your profile completely - the more complete the profile, the more matching requests come in.
ucm.jobs places catering assistants daily with companies, trade fairs, and events - register for free in under 2 minutes.
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