Drawing upon our interviews with frontline cemetery operatives and administrative staff working for an urban local authority in south-western England, here we will explore cemetery staff experiences of providing burial services for a multiethnic, multicultural population and recount some of the challenges encountered and how these are overcome. The Equality Act 2010 and internal industry standards (notably the ICCM’s Charter for the Bereaved) oblige burial authorities to provide a service which recognises user needs, without unfairness or discrimination. From initial contact with newly bereaved families, through the grave selection and funeral arrangement process, digging and construction of graves according to specific requirements, ‘taking a grave’ on the day to backfilling and maintenance, we will showcase how frontline staff exercise both technical and emotional knowledge and skills when responding to – and attempting to balance – the wide range of religious and other cultural needs in relation to body disposal within the communities they serve. This physical and emotional labour is carried out amidst a backdrop of technical challenges governed by the need to adhere to appropriate religious and burial practices, which are set against ever-decreasing budgets and staffing resources, as well as public sensitivities around perceived ‘fairness’ of access to cemetery services.