How to screen a kitchen porter

Must-haves to check first

Decide these before you advertise. Keep the list short - every extra requirement narrows your pool.

• Availability for your shifts, including late finishes Possible knock-out
• Can get home after a late finish Possible knock-out
• Level 1 or 2 Food Hygiene - a nice-to-have, often trained on the job Nice to have

7 questions to ask every kitchen porter applicant

Ask everyone the same core questions, in the same order, and follow up where their CV leaves a gap. That's what makes a screen fair and comparable.

1. Which days and shifts can you work, including late finishes?Listen for: Clear availability.
2. How will you get home after a shift ending at midnight?Listen for: A real plan. This is a common reason for leaving.
3. Have you worked in a kitchen before? What did you do?Listen for: Any kitchen or cleaning experience is useful; none is fine for most roles.
4. How do you keep a busy pot wash area under control?Listen for: Prioritising what the chefs need first, keeping the area clean and safe.
5. What would you do if you found a spill on the kitchen floor during service?Listen for: Deals with it or signs it straight away - safety first.
6. Do you know how to use cleaning chemicals safely?Listen for: Awareness of instructions, dilution and never mixing chemicals.
7. When could you start?Listen for: Useful for fast hiring.

What not to ask

And for every role, avoid asking about:

• Age or date of birth - unless the law sets a minimum age for the task
• Health, sickness record or disability before a job offer (Equality Act 2010, section 60). The narrow exceptions include asking about adjustments for the recruitment process, and whether someone can carry out a task that is intrinsic to the job - ask about the task, not the condition
• Pregnancy, children, childcare or plans to start a family
• Nationality or "where are you from?" - instead, ask every applicant whether they have the right to work in the UK, and check documents before they start
• Religion, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, or gender reassignment

More on this in AI screening and UK law.

Screening kitchen porters at volume

If you get more kitchen porters applicants than your team can phone, the questions above are only fair if everyone gets asked them. BeCareers asks every applicant about your must-haves and these questions in a short conversation - in their own language, at any time of day - and gives you the transcript and a summary. You decide who to interview.

See also: AI screening for hospitality.