Catering Companies Back-Office Services

The Award: typically the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020

Which award applies depends on the business, the work each employee actually performs, their classification and whether they are full-time, part-time or casual. The Fair Work Ombudsman's coverage summary places caterers, and catering employees working for a catering business, under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020, and notes two exceptions: catering run by a restaurant business or by an aged care facility, and in-flight catering for airlines, are not covered by this award. Check coverage for your own business rather than assuming one award covers everyone, and use the Fair Work Pay Calculator for the current rate for a given award, classification and shift.

Classifications: Food and Beverage and Kitchen classifications. Casual workforce dominates with event-based scaling.

Ordinary hours: 38 hours per week for permanent staff, casual engagement per event.

Penalty rates: the award sets separate rates for Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and for overtime, evening, night or shift work where it provides them, and they vary by classification and by whether the employee is full-time, part-time or casual — casual employees have their own rates in the award's penalty table. Rather than work from a remembered percentage, look up the current rate for the specific classification and shift on the Fair Work Pay Calculator and apply the rate in effect on the day worked. Weekend events trigger Saturday/Sunday rates for entire casual workforce.

Minimum engagement: 2 hours for casuals (Hospitality Award clause 11.3, read 8 September 2026), though most events run 4-8 hours.

Key allowances: meal allowance, travel allowance for off-site events, uniform.

Getting these provisions wrong creates systematic underpayment that compounds with every pay period. The Fair Work Ombudsman actively monitors compliance in this sector, and the penalties for deliberate underpayment were significantly increased under recent legislation. Valont's payroll specialists configure your payroll software with the exact award rules for each employee classification, eliminating manual interpretation errors.

Sources: award coverage — the Fair Work Ombudsman's summary of the Hospitality Award [MA000009] and the award text of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 [MA000009] (read 8 September 2026); pay and award rules — Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission; superannuation, BAS and tax — the Australian Taxation Office.