Job Descriptions

West Best Job e.U. specializes primarily in catering jobs in Austria:

For more information, click on the images!

One of the peculiarities of working in the Austrian hospitality industry is that due to the extremely high workload, employers save money by hiring fewer people than the amount of work would require.

Typically, everyone is available, meaning that in addition to your daily responsibilities, if needed, they can also assign you to other work roles.

Seasonal work

The hospitality business is mentally and physically demanding; be honest with yourself and answer the following questions before you get started:

• Am I able to work for 10-12 hours a day, or even for weeks?
• Am I able to work without a day off for up to 3 weeks?
• I'm going to spend 4-5 months alone, away from my family?
• Can I bear the thought that I still worked in higher positions at home, even as a graduate; now I have to start from the bottom of the hierarchy?
• Can I bear the thought of sometimes having to do without what I need because of a lack of a day off and well-developed infrastructure?

If your answer to most of the questions is yes, then feel free to continue reading and dare to take the plunge in the hope of a better life!

Type of contracts

• Seasonal contract for a fixed term = Saissonstelle (fixed-term employment relationship)
• Indefinite-term contract = Dauerdienstverhältnis (unlimited Employment relationship)

Therefore, work in Austria can be done all year round Apply, However, the seasonal work has two distinct „peak periods“ for submitting applications.

Application period

Winter seasonMost hospitality establishments consider the winter season to be the peak season, expecting more guests, and therefore they need more employees. The winter season usually starts in December and ends in April. The application submission period runs from September until the start of the season, but of course you can still find work during the season, as there are always „springs” coming in, just maybe not as many offers as during the application period.

More likely candidates (with confident language skills, a certificate in hospitality and experience, as well as foreign, Austrian work experience), Zeugnis-sThose with al=reference letters (should apply already in September so that the positions in the best locations are still available).

For applicants who do not yet meet the aforementioned conditions or have only part of them, I recommend the second half of the application period, the months of October and November, as during this period hospitality establishments are less likely to „select“ employees, since for them the most important thing is to have an adequate number of employees at the beginning of the season.

Summer season: The winter season ends in April, with most hospitality establishments resuming their operations with a May start date for their guests and employees. The application period begins in April with similar themes, and is expected to end in September.

During the period between the two seasons (April-May, October, November), when there is no work, you are considered unemployed, therefore Unemployment benefitYou are entitled to be in Austria or Hungary.

What kind of salary and other benefits can you expect?

Payment

In Austrian hospitality, there is no minimum wage in the strict sense of the word, but there are recommended incomes that vary by region and position, from which the employer may deviate only to the extent that it provides positive benefits for the employee. Contract regulated by law = Collective agreement.

Job description	Average salary 5 days 40 hours 6 days 48 hours work (net, euro)
Maid	1600-2000€
Server	1800-2200€
Sink	1600-2000€
Kitchen helper	1700-2100€
Cook	1900-2600€
Master of the house	1700-2100€

Free accommodation and food

• Most employers provide free accommodation in a hotel or in a Mittarbeiterhaus (not a Hungarian work hostel, mind you 🙂) that is conveniently located not far from the place where the work is performed.

• That is not typical, but it may happen that they deduct a deposit and a monthly rent from your payment for the accommodation. The deposit is a one-time amount that you will get back at the end of the season if you return your accommodation in the same condition. The monthly rent is usually only a symbolic amount, about 100 euros per month.

• 3 meals a day are also provided. It’s not typical, but it may happen that they only provide meals on weekdays (not on weekends). You don’t need to worry, because you’ll work 5-6 days out of 7 days a week 🙂

Working hours

• The above payments usually cover 6 days a week, you have to work 8 hours a day, but somewhere the time spent eating also adds up.

• Overtime: quite common; many times they work 10-12 hours a day. The employer pays the employee in a percentage form with a supplement, the amount of which is specified in the contract, in a collective agreement (Collective agreement = collective agreement, regulated by law) and the general regulation applicable to the respective region is the decisive factor.

Vacation, leave

• There is usually 1 day off per week, but the employer is not required to give it off every week. You may not have a day off for weeks. Later on, you get more days off per week, or the employer pays for them.

• There is approximately 2.5 days of leave each month. The same rules apply as for a day off.

Season money

• The 13th month’s holiday allowance = “Christmas money” and the 14th month’s Christmas bonus = “Christmas money” are seasonal contracts; the proportion of time calculated for the time period worked is the seasonal bonus.

• After two months of work, you are obligated to pay the employer; you can decide whether to pay or not.

• You will receive the last month's salary together with it, as well as any unpaid leave days and holidays.

Borravaló

• Location and position dependent
• Mainly characteristic of the work of the maid and the waiter
• From the tip paid at the reception, the other hotel employees can also receive a proportional share.

What they expect from us

• Workload (10-12 hours of work per day)
• Hard work
• Motivation
• Proactivity (After completing our tasks, ask where we can help further)
• Kind, friendly, empathetic personality
• Desire to learn (German language)

Maid

Payment and other benefits

• 1600-2000 euros net/month
• Free accommodation and food
• 13th and 14th month salary, season bonus
• Wine opener (location-dependent)
• Overtime payment
• Tax refund application

Requirements for applying

• Basic German language skills (For orientation when traveling, you need to be able to understand our tasks, we need to sign a work contract, and we need to handle administrative matters).

Advantages

• Experience in the position of a maid or in the hospitality industry
• Austrian work experience (Zeugniss=reference letter)
• Knowledge of another language, especially English
• Maid training course

Job duties

• The day starts between 06:00 and 07:00. The first task is to clean the breakfast room; it needs to be vacuumed and wiped down before breakfast.
• Cleaning of common areas, filling in missing items (toilets, wellness, gym, common areas, corridors)
• Preparation of maid’s car, filling it with cleaning products for the rooms (Cleaning agents, cleaning rags, toilet paper, clean towels, bedding, trash bag…)
• You have to ask the front desk for a list of the rooms available that day.
• Cleaning of rooms (anreise=arrival; abreise=departure; bleibe=staying)

There are three categories depending on how the room is cleaned:

Arrive=Arrive

On that day, a new guest arrives in the room. At that time, the most thorough cleaning must be done. In most places, it is stated from what time the rooms can be occupied; by that time, you must be ready with all the rooms, so it is worth starting with these.

• The bedding needs to be changed
• The port must be deleted
• The window needs to be washed
• Take out the trash and put a clean trash bag in every trash can.
• The brush should be wiped off with a sterile swab after disinfection
• Blocking tiles
• Cleaning the drain
• To disinfect the toilet and sink
• Fill the room (in some cases, we provide gift chocolates, flowers, brochures, information leaflets, a drink bottle, „Wellness accessories: slippers, bathrobe, sauna towel“)
• Fill the bathroom (shower gel, shampoo, various types of towels, enough toilet paper, a clean toothbrush cup…)
• Vacuuming, removal of debris
• We will check again and then, when we are completely ready, we will inform the reception staff so that the guest can occupy their room when they arrive.

Bleibe=“Stay”

The guest has already occupied their room earlier and will stay there for the entire day. In this case, you do not need to complete all the tasks (washing the windows, cleaning the drain…), especially if the guest is also staying in the room; you should try to keep the disruption to a minimum. However, the following must be done in any case:

• Remove the trash
• Insert into the mattress. Only the bed linen that has become moldy or very dirty needs to be replaced. Usually, it is given differently from hotel to hotel, but it is recommended to change the bed linen every 2-3 days if the guest stays for a longer period of time.
• To disinfect the brush and wipe it down without drops
• Cleaning the toilet
• Cleaning the sink without drops
• Fill the room
• Fill up the bathroom (take out the dirty towels, replace them with new ones, add toilet paper, check that there is still shampoo and conditioner in it)

Departure=Departure

The guest leaves and no new guest arrives that day. There is no urgent need to clean the room, so we usually leave these rooms last.

However, it is definitely recommended to check:

• did the guest not cause any harm to him?
• did he not take something away
• did he leave a tip 😀
• It’s worth taking out the trash and bed linens to prevent them from becoming smelly.
• As soon as we have time, we should do our tasks in the same way as at the anreise = arriving room.

They completed these tasks by the early afternoon. The rest of the day was very different from one hotel to the next.

• Cleaning of restaurants and common areas: After lunch or before dinner, the restaurant must be vacuumed and wiped down again to make it clean for the dinner. Cleaning and removing tables is usually the service staff’s responsibility.
• The toilets may have been flushed and emptied since then, which is why they need to be cleaned and refilled again.
• Laundry, drying, ironing: There are hotels that do not have a contract with a laundry service; they do the washing, drying, and ironing themselves. If this is the case, there is a lot of ongoing administration, with the machines running continuously, which need to be replaced. It’s not just a matter of washing the kitchen towels, tablecloths, and bed linen. After washing, drying comes next. The kitchen towels need to be dried completely, the bed linen and tablecloths half-dried so that they can be ironed more easily. In these hotels, either a separate person is assigned to the laundry room, or in most cases the maid’s afternoon task is to keep the laundry room tidy.
• Helping in other areas: In addition to our regular tasks, the Austrian hotel work is characterized by being assigned to where we are needed. After cleaning the rooms, we can be assigned to remove the plates from the tables, set to wash, peel potatoes or onions, polish cutlery, refill the bar with missing drinks…

Server

In service, the tasks, wages, working hours, the nature of the hospitality establishment, its capacity to accommodate, and the position held determine the service, which is why it can sometimes be very different from place to place.

Früstück Kellner = Morning waiter

Kellner = Barman

A’la Carte waiter = A’ la carte (a menu of freely selectable dishes) waiter

Chef de Rang or Oberkellner = Chief Cook

Zahlkellner = Payment waiter

Commis de Rang = Waiter assistant

Payment

• 1800-2200 euros net
• Free accommodation and food
• 13th and 14th month salary, season bonus
• Beer allowance (in some places it significantly increases your salary)
• Overtime payment
• Tax refund application

Requirements for applying

• Minimum intermediate level of German language skills (The primary task of the waiters is to sell as much as possible to the guest. They spend a significant part of their working time among the guests; constant communication is indispensable).
• Kind, smiling, friendly, good-looking personality

Advantages:

• Experience in hospitality and serving
• Austrian work experience (Zeugniss=reference letter)
• Knowledge of another language, especially English
• Restaurant management qualification

Job duties

Früstück Kellner = Morning waiter

• He starts his work time between 06:00 and 07:00.
• Responsible for breakfast
• The breakfast buffet is completely replenished (the plates prepared the day before are put away, sliced vegetables and cheeses are prepared, the refrigerator is turned on, milk is put into the coffee maker and the coffee is prepared…)
• While serving breakfast, it continuously monitors and refills what is already running out
• In some places, they take orders for drinks.
• If a table leaves, it takes away its contents
• She packs up the things left in the buffet, covers them up, sorts them, and folds the yoghurts…
• He/She writes down the half-board orders, which table requests which menu
• Around 11:00 the first work period (Zimmerstunde = room hour, i.e. the rest period between the two shifts) ends.
• Around 19:00, he returns to work again, takes orders for drinks, and helps serve dinner.
• After dinner, around 21:00, their working hours end.

Kellner = Barman

• Work hours start around 09:00
• Cleans the A’la carte area (cleans the tables, benches, tablecloths, cutlery, napkins, salt shakers, and prepares napkins for the tables).
• He helps the waiter who serves breakfast pack the tables and set the table for dinner. He replaces the dirty plates and dishes and hands out the cutlery…
• Wash the dirty cups and plates after breakfast
• Assist the A’la carte waiter (prepares the ordered drinks)
• Around 14:00, the first shift ends (Zimmerstunde = room hour, i.e., the rest period between the two shifts)
• The second shift starts around 18:00.
• Prepares and packs the dinner buffet, soups, salads, bread
• Together with the waiter who serves breakfast, they take orders for drinks according to a fixed table sharing system
• Dinner begins; the appetizers, main course, and dessert are served.
• After dinner, he packs and sets up the dinner buffet
• It ruins the non-perishable foods for breakfast, e.g. breadcrumbs
• If the guests pay in cash, you charge them; if they don't, you print them out and place the bills and menu cards on the table.
• He leads the guests to the bar and sets the tables, replaces the tablecloths, and prepares the breakfast. He vacuums and cleans the restaurant.

A’la carte waiter = A’ la carte waiter

• Work time starts around 11:00
• The task of serving dishes from the menu to guests wishing to dine in the hotel restaurant (non-hotel guests who arrive from outside)
• Prepares everything in advance: cutlery, salt shakers and napkins for each table
• He takes the menu off the table
• He takes the drink order
• He takes the drinks and places the food order.
• He takes away the food
• Paid
• He will clean the table and then set it up again.
• He cleans up, vacuums, and mops the A’la Carte restaurant area
• Polishing cutlery and glasses
• Around 15:00 Zimmerstunde = room hour, that is, the break between two shifts
• 18:00 He starts the second shift, helping the other waiters serve the dinner
• 22:00 End of second shift

Chef de Rang, or Oberkellner = Chief Cook

He is the boss. He does everything that the other waiters do, but his only responsibility is:

• With semi-buffet service, updating the list of guests arriving/leaving so the other waiters know which tables have how many people booked, how many people to serve, whether they are ordering breakfast or dinner…
• The arrangement of tables according to the number of guests attending (placing a family of 4 in a 4-person table), rearrangement and folding of tables if necessary
• He usually writes the other waiters' shifts.

Zahlkellner = Payment waiter

There can be paid and unpaid waiters in any position. This is a matter of entitlement and responsibilities. The paid waiter takes the order and brings the bill to the guest. He has access to the cash register and the computer. Therefore, he receives the tip to be distributed among the other colleagues based on personality and habit.

Commis de Rang = Waiter assistant

• His schedule is very variable; naturally, he is most needed during „peak hours“. At the a’la carte restaurant from 11:00 to 14:00, and at dinner
• His task is to work as efficiently as possible under the hands of the waiters.
• They do not have as direct a connection with the guest as waiters do, so a basic level of German language knowledge can also be sufficient to fill the position.
• The paying waiter takes the order, his assistant prepares the drinks on a tray so that the waiter only has to take them out.
• With departing guests, he is the one who takes the plates and serves them again.
• Meanwhile, he polishes cutlery and glasses, starts the dishwasher.
• At the end of the shift, she cleans the tables, takes the dirty dishes to the laundry room, and cleans the kitchen towels; she also does the dishes again, vacuums, and wipes down the counter.
• It is always the task that the waiter working with him in the same shift asks of him.

Sink

Payment

• 1600-2000 euros net
• Free accommodation and food
• 13th and 14th month salary, season bonus
• Wine opener
• Overtime payment
• Tax refund application

Requirements for applying

• Basic German language skills (For orientation when traveling, you need to be able to understand our tasks, we need to sign a work contract, and we need to handle administrative matters).

Advantages:

• Experience in dishwashing positions or hospitality
• Austrian work experience (Zeugniss=reference letter)

Job duties

Before we look at the day of a dishwasher, it is important that you are aware of certain concepts and practices.

White washing: Basically, things that are easier to wash off belong here, plates, glasses, mugs..

Black washing: Black washing involves dishes and pans contaminated with grease and burnt food leftovers.

Important! Always wash the whites first so that the water in the dishwasher doesn’t get dirty too quickly. If the water is dirty, the dishwasher must be turned off and then refilled with water at the correct temperature; this takes about 10 minutes depending on the machine, which is an eternity during peak hours.

The kitchens in the hotels are industrial kitchens. They put the dishes to be washed into storage crates, which they slide under the dishwasher. With the help of a lever, they pull the metal box of the dishwasher onto the dishes, and after about 1.5-2 minutes they can, in most cases, easily slide it off and continue with the next batch. This should be thought of as a cycle. An efficient dishwasher fills the next crate with dirty dishes in 1.5 minutes, then packs the dishes that have already been washed clean. To be able to complete the task in one and a half minutes, it is advisable to put identical plates in one crate or at least ones that are close to each other in the kitchen.

Tasks

• The dishwasher usually works in two shifts and starts work at the latest around 10:00 a.m.
• Their first task after breakfast is to wash and pack the plates, cups and dishes.
• Around 11-12 o'clock, the chef is already hard at work preparing the lunch; the dishes that have accumulated during cooking need to be washed, and the chef needs to work under their supervision.
• After lunch, the dishes can be done between 3 and 4 hours. This is when the Zimmerstunde begins, the break between the two shifts.
• The second shift starts around 19:00. The plates that have come back from dinner need to be washed and packed up.
• At the end of the shift, the dishwasher’s job is to clean the kitchen, disinfect the work surface, mop the floor, wash the dishes, turn off the dishwasher, empty the trash cans and put a clean bag in them, and take the dirty dishes to the laundry room. In many cases, he or she closes the shift, so his or her job is to turn off the lights, power off the appliances, and close the doors.

If the hotel does not apply Kitchen helperIn addition, the following tasks are assigned to the sink:

• peeling potatoes and onions
• Preparation of salads, sauces and lighter desserts
• baking bread, making dumplings
• everything else that the chef entrusts to him

The sink may also be part of the hotel. housekeeperThis also applies to the person responsible for maintaining the external environment of the hotel.

Kitchen helper

Payment

• 1700-2100 euros net
• Free accommodation and food
• 13th and 14th month salary, season bonus
• Wine opener
• Overtime payment
• Tax refund application

Requirements for applying

• Basic German language skills (For orientation when traveling, you need to be able to understand our tasks, we need to sign a work contract, and we need to handle administrative matters).

Advantages:

• Experience in a kitchen assistant position or in the hospitality industry
• Austrian work experience (Zeugniss=reference letter)
• Skills in cooking, or a qualification as a cook, experience

Job duties

The main task of kitchen helpers is to work under the chef's supervision, to facilitate their work, and to follow their instructions. Their duties also depend on whether the hotel employs separate staff. sink a colleague.

• The work day starts 1 hour earlier than the cook's so that he/she can prepare everything for his/her daily work.
• Cleans up the work area
• Prepares the work tools
• Prepares the ingredients, potatoes, onions, and vegetables by peeling them
• Kitchen helpers, alongside the supervision of the chefs, must be able to prepare simple dishes from time to time, salads, sauces, soups, and simpler desserts…
• Prepares the plates needed for breakfast, garnishes them with salami, cheeses, butter, and decorates them elaborately
• She does the dishes, cleans, replenishes the missing ingredients, and waits for instructions.
• He selects and takes out the trash
• Cleans work tools, work surface, kitchen counter
• His work schedule is likely to be more divided into several shifts; after meals, he has his Zimmerstunde = a few hours of free time; but it is also possible that he works all day, in one shift.

Cook

Payment

• 1900-2600 euros net
• Free accommodation and food
• 13th and 14th month salary, season bonus
• Beer allowance (in some places it significantly increases your salary)
• Overtime payment
• Tax refund application

Requirements for applying

• Intermediate level German language skills
• Cook with a sole qualification as a cook or head cook
• Having several years of professional experience as an assistant cook is also sufficient.

Advantages:

• Years of experience
• International culinary knowledge
• Austrian work experience (Zeugniss=reference letter)

Job duties

The hotel's capacity, specialization (e.g., vegan hotels), number of stars, all determine the level of the kitchen hierarchy, the professional specialization of the chefs, the number of people working in the kitchen, and the diversity of their tasks.

Chef

• He/She designs the restaurant’s menu
• It compiles the weekly menu based on the reservations
• In the weekly menu, he lists the stock of goods to be procured
• It checks the quality of the stock of goods
• It writes down the employees' duties
• Insures compliance with and enforcement of the occupational safety and health regulations applicable to kitchen work
• In addition to performing the above tasks, he is also responsible for preparing the meals, like the other chefs.

In the culinary profession, there are numerous specializations (e.g., breakfast chef, pizza chef, ham chef, dessert chef…), each responsible for their own area (e.g., purchasing of goods).

Working hours

Their specialization and duties determine them!

• The breakfast cook is of course responsible for the breakfast service; the main work time begins before breakfast, starting as early as 05:00.
• The A’la Carte chef is responsible for serving lunch to external guests arriving at the hotel, according to a menu order. His main work time begins around 11:00 in the late morning.
• In half-board hotels, the dinner chef works from 17:00 in the afternoon until late at night.
• In most hotels, their main task is to stand alongside the other chef before or after serving as a helper. For example, the breakfast cook stays alongside the A’la Carte cook, or in Zimmerstunde=speech time, helps with the dinner service after a break between two shifts.

Master of the house

Payment

• 1700-2100 euros net
• Free accommodation and food
• 13th and 14th month salary, season bonus
• Beer allowance (in some places it significantly increases your salary)
• Overtime payment
• Tax refund application

Requirements for applying

• Basic German language skills (For orientation when traveling, you need to be able to understand our tasks, we need to sign a work contract, and we need to handle administrative matters).

Advantages:

• Professional qualification (e.g. electrician)
• Work experience as a housemaster
• Austrian work experience (Certificate=reference sheet)

Job duties

• Maintaining the external environment of the hotel (snow removal in winter, lawn mowing in summer)
• Collecting trash
• Performing „DIY“ tasks that do not require serious technical knowledge (replacing a burned-out light bulb, repairing a broken chair leg)
• For events, the rooms are equipped with tables and chairs
• Removal of garbage to the landfill
• Acquisition of goods
• In most places, the caretaker is also the hotel manager. sink His colleague is also

Working hours

• He usually works in one shift
• Sometimes there may be two shifts, for example, on an evening event; he is responsible for the smooth operation of the technical equipment.
• If the housekeeper is also the dishwasher, then it is almost certain that she works in two shifts, since the guests wait for her to wash up after dinner.