Dishwasher job description template: restaurant, banquet or institutional dish room, chemicals, slicer cleaning and tip pools
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Dishwashers are the hardest kitchen job to keep filled, and the posting is often one line: "Dishwasher needed, all shifts." That line gets applicants, but not ones who know what they are signing up for, which is why so many quit in the first week. A dishwasher in a busy restaurant runs a high-temperature machine through a Saturday rush and closes the kitchen at midnight. A hotel steward washes banquet ware for 800 and moves heavy racks between floors. A hospital dish room runs a conveyor machine on a tray schedule. The duties also touch federal rules: cleaning slicers and running compactors are off limits to anyone under 18, and whether a dishwasher can share tips depends on how the restaurant pays its servers. A useful dishwasher job description names the setting, the volume, the shift end time, the other duties, the chemical training and the pay. Below are the settings, the safety, age and tip lines with sources, a copy-ready template, screening and scorecard rows, and common mistakes. For the call, use dishwasher screening questions.
Not legal advice. The OSHA, child labor, tip and food handler points below were checked against OSHA, the Department of Labor, 29 CFR Parts 531 and 570 on Cornell's Legal Information Institute and the Washington State Department of Health as of October 2026. States and cities can add rules.
Name the dish room
| Setting | What the shift looks like | Must-have that separates it |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurant | Door-type or undercounter machine, pots and pans by hand, rush peaks, closing the kitchen | Keeps up with a rush and keeps the line stocked with plates |
| High-volume or fast casual | Constant flow of smallwares and sheet pans, three-compartment sink, frequent trash runs | Steady pace for a full shift; organized racking |
| Hotel or banquet stewarding | Banquet ware for large events, conveyor machines, carts between floors, late event teardowns | Moves heavy racks and carts safely; flexible event hours |
| Hospital, school or senior living | Tray line returns on a fixed schedule, conveyor or flight machine, infection control routines | Follows a set schedule and sanitation procedures exactly |
| Catering kitchen | Hotel pans, chafers and transport equipment returning from off-site events | Handles bulky equipment and changing event schedules |
Then fix the details with the chef or kitchen manager: covers or meals on a busy night (an estimate), the machine type, the shift end time including kitchen close, other duties such as basic prep, trash, floors and receiving, and whether dishwashers can move up to prep. If you promote dishwashers into prep, link to the path in the posting; the prep cook job description template shows the next role.
Chemicals, slicers, compactors and minors
Dish chemicals. Dish machine detergents, sanitizers, delimers and oven cleaners are hazardous chemicals. OSHA requires effective training on the hazardous chemicals in the work area at the time of initial assignment and whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced, covering labels and safety data sheets (29 CFR 1910.1200(h)). Say that you train and provide gloves and eye protection.
Slicers and compactors. Hazardous Occupations Order 10 bars workers under 18 from operating power-driven meat processing machines such as slicers, and from cleaning them, including hand-washing the disassembled parts. HO 12 bars them from operating compactors and balers; 16- and 17-year-olds may only load certain paper balers and box compactors (DOL Fact Sheet #43). If the dishwasher cleans the slicer or runs the cardboard compactor, the posting should set 18 as the minimum age or assign those tasks to adults.
Ages 14 and 15. Dishwashers are among the machines 14- and 15-year-olds may use, and they may clean kitchen equipment and surfaces that do not exceed 100°F (29 CFR 570.34). They may not operate, set up or clean power-driven food slicers, grinders, choppers, processors or mixers (29 CFR 570.33), and they may work only 3 hours on a school day and 18 in a school week, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day). Closing shifts are therefore out. See hiring minors and work permits.
Food worker cards. Some states cover dish staff. Washington defines a food worker as anyone who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or surfaces where unwrapped food is placed, and requires a food worker card; a new worker may work up to 14 days first if the employer provides food safety training (Washington State Department of Health). Check your state's definition before deciding whether the card line belongs.
Tips and dishwashers
Many restaurants now share tips with the kitchen, and candidates ask about it. The federal rule depends on the servers' wage. If the employer takes a tip credit for servers, a mandatory tip pool may include only employees who customarily and regularly receive tips, so dishwashers cannot be in it. If the employer pays the full minimum wage and takes no tip credit, it may include dishwashers and cooks. In every case, managers and supervisors may not receive tips from the pool, and pooled tips must be paid out by the regular payday (29 CFR 531.54). If your dishwashers share tips, say so and explain the split as an example; it is a real advantage in a hard-to-fill role. State rules on tip sharing can be stricter.
The dishwasher job description template
Dishwasher — [Restaurant name / Hotel Stewarding / Hospital Dish
Room / Catering], [Evenings / Days / Weekends], [Full-Time /
Part-Time]
[Employer], [neighborhood or street area, city, state]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] per hour [plus a share of the tip pool, split by
[hours worked, as an example]]. [Meal during shift.] [Benefits
summary, if required.]
SUMMARY
You will run our [door-type / conveyor] dish machine and wash pots
and pans for a kitchen that serves about [N] [covers / meals] on a
busy [day] (an estimate). Shifts run [start time] to [kitchen
close, usually around time], [days]. You will report to the
[chef / kitchen manager / chief steward].
WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Scrape, rack and run dishes, glassware and smallwares; wash pots
and pans by hand.
- Keep the line stocked with clean plates and tools during service.
- Check machine temperatures or sanitizer levels and log them.
- Use our dish chemicals after training, with the gloves and eye
protection we provide.
- Take out trash and recycling; sweep and mop the kitchen at close.
- [Help with basic prep and receiving when the dish room is clear.]
YOU MUST HAVE
- Availability for the shifts above, including [weekends and
holidays].
- [Age line: "18 or older" if the job includes cleaning the meat
slicer or running the compactor.]
- Ability to stand for the shift, work in a hot and wet area and
lift racks and pots up to [N] pounds, with or without reasonable
accommodation.
- [Food worker card within [deadline], if your state requires it;
we pay for it.]
NICE TO HAVE
- Kitchen experience. Interest in learning prep: we [train and
promote from the dish room].
No experience? We train. Please apply.
[EEO STATEMENT]
To request an adjustment to apply or interview, call or text
[contact].Pay and EEO
Post the hourly range, any tip share and any meal benefit; check pay transparency laws by state. Close with a short EEO statement covering the characteristics the EEOC lists. Keep the language requirement to what the job needs, such as reading chemical labels.
From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows
| Must-have | Screening question | Scorecard competency | Evidence of a strong answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closing availability | "Shifts end when the kitchen is clean, usually around 11:30 p.m. on weekends. Can you work that every week?" | Not scored | Knockout confirmed, with a way home |
| Keeping up in a rush | "Plates are running low on the line and pans are piling up. What do you do first?" | Prioritization | Runs plates first, soaks pans, tells the cook how long, asks for help if needed |
| Sanitation check | "How do you know the dish machine is actually sanitizing?" | Food safety | Checks the temperature gauge or sanitizer test strip, logs it, tells the manager if it is off and stops using it |
| Chemical safety | "The machine runs out of detergent mid-shift. How do you change it?" | Safety awareness | Uses gloves and eye protection, follows the label and the training, never mixes products |
| Reliability | "Tell me about a job where you had to be on time every shift. How did you manage it?" | Dependability | Specific example; transport and backup plan |
Hotels hiring stewards alongside other departments can use the interview guide for hospitality roles for consistent screens. For the cooks the dish room supports, see the line cook job description template.
Common mistakes in dishwasher job descriptions
No end time
"Evenings" hides a midnight finish. Post the usual end time, including close.
Hiding the extra duties
Trash, floors, receiving and prep are part of the job in most kitchens. List them.
Teens on slicer cleaning
Federal rules bar anyone under 18 from cleaning meat slicers. Write the posting around that.
Promising a tip share the law does not allow
If you take a tip credit for servers, dishwashers cannot be in the mandatory pool. Check before promising it.
Before you publish
- Setting, volume estimate and end time are in the title and summary.
- Chemical training and PPE are mentioned.
- Age lines match slicer, compactor and hour rules.
- Any tip share matches 29 CFR 531.54 and your state rules.
- Pay, EEO statement and accommodation contact are present.
Questions people ask
Can a 16-year-old dishwasher clean the meat slicer?
No. Federal Hazardous Occupations Order 10 bars workers under 18 from operating power-driven meat slicers and similar machines and from cleaning them, including hand-washing the disassembled parts. Assign slicer cleaning to staff 18 or older and say so in the posting.
Can dishwashers share in the servers' tip pool?
Only if the employer pays everyone in the pool at least the full minimum wage and takes no tip credit. Under 29 CFR 531.54, a pool in a tip-credit restaurant is limited to employees who customarily and regularly receive tips, while an employer that takes no tip credit may include dishwashers and cooks. Managers and supervisors may never receive pooled tips.
Can a 14- or 15-year-old work as a dishwasher?
Yes, within limits. Federal rules list dishwashers among the machines 14- and 15-year-olds may use and allow them to clean kitchen equipment and surfaces that do not exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. They may not operate or clean power-driven food slicers, grinders or mixers, and their hours are limited to 3 on a school day, 18 in a school week, and between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., or 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.
Do dishwashers need food handler cards?
In some states. Washington, for example, defines a food worker as anyone who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces, and requires a food worker card, with up to 14 days to get it if the employer provides food safety training. Check your state and local health department.