In a busy quick-service restaurant, payroll mistakes rarely begin with bad intentions.
More often, they begin with a role that has changed, a junior employee’s birthday, an unexpected overtime shift or a roster built using the wrong classification.
The Fast Food Industry Award 2020 sets minimum pay and employment conditions for employees covered by the Award. For QSR operators, understanding where the Award applies and how its rules interact is an important part of looking after both the business and its people.
Start with the nature of the business
The Award generally covers businesses that take orders for, prepare and sell meals, snacks or drinks for takeaway, delivery or consumption away from the point of sale. This includes many drive- throughs, takeaway shops and outlets operating in food courts, shopping centres and retail
complexes.
It generally does not cover cafés, bars and restaurants that mainly provide sit-down service.
The boundary is not always obvious. A sushi train, ice cream shop or QSR that has introduced table service may need to be considered in light of its main business activity and the way customers are usually served. A counter does not automatically make a business fast food, and a few tables don’t automatically make it a restaurant.
Fair Work provides additional guidance for sushi businesses.
Choosing the wrong award can create a pattern of errors across classifications, rosters and future pay runs, so it is worth resolving uncertainty early
Classify the work, not the job title
Employees must be classified according to the skills and responsibilities the employer requires them to use.
Level 1 generally covers employees who prepare food, take orders, cook, sell, serve or deliver meals, snacks and drinks. They work as directed and within the limits of their competence, skills and training.
Level 2 applies where an employee has major day-to-day responsibility for supervising Level 1 employees, training new employees or exercising trade skills.
Level 3 applies to an employee appointed to be in charge of a shop, food outlet or delivery outlet.
The practical question is more “What are we asking this person to do?” rather than “What are we calling them?”
A crew member who has taken on significant training or supervisory responsibility may no longer belong at Level 1 and paying someone a salary does not immediately place them outside the Award.
Keep a close eye on junior rates
Employees under 21 are currently paid a percentage of the adult minimum rate for their classification.
This area is changing. The Fair Work Commission has decided that employees aged 18 to 20 will progressively become entitled to the full adult rate after more than six months with their employer.
As of August 2026, the commencement and transitional arrangements are still being finalised, so employers should check the latest Fair Work junior-rate guidance.
Know when overtime rates apply
When overtime is payable under the Award, the rate depends on when it is worked.
From Monday to Saturday, full-time and part-time employees receive 150% of the minimum hourly rate for the first two overtime hours and 200% after that.
Casual employees receive 175% for the first two hours and 225% thereafter.
Sunday overtime is paid at 200% for full-time and part-time employees and 225% for casuals.
Public holiday overtime is paid at 250% and 275% respectively.
Make compliance part of the everyday workflow
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth has said: “Employers must follow all wage laws, including paying minimum wages…those doing the wrong thing are being found out and held to account.”
Knowing the rules is only the beginning. The harder task is applying them consistently across changing roles, birthdays, shifts and employment types.
Each rule is manageable on its own. The difficulty comes when classifications, ages, agreed hours and shift times must all be applied together, across every employee and every roster.
iWS rostering and timesheets software helps teams see award-based labour costs and potential compliance issues while the roster is being built. Our payroll outsourcing team also supports award interpretation and payroll processing.
Talk to us about building award compliance into your everyday operations.
This is general information, not legal advice, and is current as at August 2026. Confirm current rates and conditions against the Fast Food Industry Award 2020 and the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool.
