Hospitality Industry (General) Award

Do not assume that hospitality work is the same as Hospitality Award coverage. The industry exclusions are detailed and matter in practice.

• Check that the business sits within the hospitality industry examples in clause 4.2 and is not one of the excluded industries or operations in clause 4.4.
• The award covers a wide range of accommodation, beverage, catering, casino and function operations, but it still excludes a long list of other settings.
• On-hire and group training arrangements can be covered if the underlying hospitality setting and classification fit.
• If a worker could fit more than one award, clause 4.5 points to the classification most appropriate to the work performed and the industry in which it is done.

This award's part-time rules are detailed and operational. If guaranteed hours and availability are not written down properly, roster and overtime issues quickly follow.

• Part-time employees must be engaged within the award's weekly hours limits for part-time work.
• At engagement, the employer and employee must agree in writing on guaranteed hours and the employee's availability.
• Part-time employees must not be rostered outside their availability and must have two days off each week.
• If they have regularly worked above guaranteed hours for the required period, they can request an increase and a refusal must be based on reasonable business grounds.

For full-time staff, the roster model itself is a compliance issue. Pick an award option and manage to its conditions, rather than building custom patterns from scratch.

• A full-time employee's ordinary hours must be worked under one of the roster arrangements listed in clause 15.1, not an ad hoc mix created week by week.
• The agreed arrangement must also satisfy the daily and cycle conditions in the award, including the limits on long days and split shifts.
• Breaks and rostering need to be checked at the planning stage, not after the week has already been worked.

Classification is the backbone of hospitality payroll. A wrong stream or grade often causes several other errors at once, including penalties and allowances.

• The minimum rate structure is built around streams and grades, not generic hospitality titles.
• Introductory level is temporary and linked to training and assessment for level 1 competency.
• Food and beverage, guest service, kitchen, front office, clerical, cook, gardener and supervisory roles all need the right stream and grade.
• Annualised wage arrangements and salary absorption for managerial staff in hotels need a separate review rather than assumptions based on the base rate table alone.

Separate the base rate, overtime, penalties and allowances clearly so the pay outcome can still be checked later by the business or the employee.

• Allowances need separate identification in payroll records and payslips.
• Meal allowances, tool or equipment issues, overtime and penalty rates should all be kept separate from the base classification rate.
• Hospitality payroll is often high volume, so clarity in the pay components matters as much as the roster itself.

Coverage and payroll should be checked in that order. Hospitality businesses often go wrong by starting with roster rules before settling the correct award.

• The NES continue to operate alongside the award.
• If an enterprise instrument or another more appropriate award applies, this award may not control the role even if the venue looks like a hospitality business.
• Cross-award boundary questions should be resolved before the business relies on the award's part-time and roster machinery.

PR799280, PR799290, PR799447

The current consolidated award incorporates these recent variation determinations. Use the consolidated wording when checking any affected clause, schedule, rate or allowance.

Affected: 18 - Minimum rates, 19 - Apprentice rates, 21 - National training wage, 26 - Allowances, 29 - Penalty rates, 37 - Deductions for provision of employee accommodation and meals, Schedule B - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule C - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule E - Supported Wage System, Schedule I - Loaded Rate Arrangements