Who is actually on the list right now
These are live counts from our own database, not a claim about the market. 440 bar-skilled crew across the towns below, of whom 205 have confirmed in the last 30 days that they are still available. That second number is the one that matters: a staffing list nobody has spoken to in six months is a phone book.
| Town | Bar crew | Confirmed available, last 30 days |
|---|---|---|
| London | 83 | 33 |
| Belfast | 61 | 26 |
| Bristol | 55 | 24 |
| Leeds | 38 | 22 |
| Manchester | 29 | 15 |
| Brighton | 26 | 16 |
| Nottingham | 19 | 5 |
| Liverpool | 16 | 7 |
| Glasgow | 14 | 7 |
| Cardiff | 13 | 5 |
| Bournemouth | 13 | 6 |
| Birmingham | 13 | 3 |
| Exeter | 10 | 6 |
| Colchester | 10 | 9 |
| Portsmouth | 9 | 4 |
| York | 7 | 5 |
| Edinburgh | 7 | 5 |
| Stirling | 6 | 4 |
| Sheffield | 6 | 1 |
| Southampton | 5 | 2 |
Counts pulled from the live CrewPool database on 18 September 2026. Towns with fewer than five bar-skilled crew are not listed, because telling a venue we have two people near them would be wasting their time.
What it costs you, worked through properly
Say you need four bar staff for a ten-hour event day. Through a staffing agency at a typical 30 percent margin on a £14 hourly rate, you pay about £728 for the day and the staff take home £560 of it. The agency keeps £168.
Through CrewPool you agree £14 an hour with each of them directly. You pay £560. They receive all of it. We are not in that transaction and we never see the money.
That gap is the entire reason this exists. It is also why we will never take a percentage of what the crew earn: the moment we do, we are the thing we replaced.
How it works
- Post what you need, free. Venue location, dates, how many, the rate you are offering.
- We message matched bar staff near you. They tap one link to say yes or no for those dates.
- You see who is available on your own job page, best match first, and get their number.
- You ring them and agree it directly. You hire, you pay, you keep the relationship.
What we are honest about
We are an introduction layer, not an agency and not an employer. We do not supply labour, we do not run payroll, and we never take a margin on anyone's wages. Tickets are self-declared and you should check the physical card on the night. A confirmed reference is a vouch from a previous employer, not an identity or right-to-work check. The full version is on the how the model works page, written plainly for anyone who wants to read it cold.
Common questions
What does it cost to hire bar staff through CrewPool?
Nothing at the moment. Posting a job is free, seeing who is available is free, and getting someone's number is free while we build this out. When we do start charging it will be a flat fee to the venue, never a cut of what the bar staff earn.
How is this different from a bar staff agency?
An agency employs the person, supplies them to you and takes a margin on every hour they work, typically 20 to 50 percent on top of the wage. We introduce you and step out. You agree the rate with them directly and pay them directly. We never touch their money and we take no cut of their pay, ever.
How quickly can I get someone?
Post the job and we message matched bar staff near your venue straight away. Replies land on your own job page as they come in. The fastest job posted on CrewPool filled in four minutes; a few days' notice is more typical and gets you a better choice.
Do you check their right to work?
Today the venue does that, because you are the one engaging and paying them. Read exactly how the model works for the full picture of what we do and do not verify.
Are they vetted?
Partly, and we are straight about which parts. A reference can be confirmed by a previous employer and shows as a badge. Tickets like a personal licence are self-declared and you should check the card. After a job the hirer reports who turned up, and repeated no-shows stop being put forward.
Looking for bar work instead?
If you landed here as a person rather than a venue, the crew side is bar shifts across the UK and it is free to join.