Two sets of rules, and one of them is just for you
A South African restaurant, coffee shop, café, pub or fast-food outlet is covered by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, like every employer, and by Sectoral Determination 14, the hospitality determination, which adds rules written for your trade: tips, uniforms and meal intervals among them. Where a bargaining council agreement covers your area, it may set its own terms.
The rules that catch restaurants out are rarely the obvious ones. Almost every owner knows the minimum wage. Far fewer know that a tip can never count towards it, that a Sunday shift costs more for some staff than others, or that a late shift is only lawful when transport home is available.
The part that gets tested later
Restaurant disputes are decided on time records: who worked which Sunday, how long the shift ran, when the break was taken. Think of last December. Could you show every hour each waiter worked, and what rate it was paid at?
The roster decides the Sunday rate, the rest periods and the overtime before anyone clocks in.
Minimum wage and tips: the line that cannot be crossed
From 1 March 2026 the national minimum wage is R30.23 per hour, and it applies to everyone on the floor and in the kitchen. Sectoral Determination 14 once set its own hospitality rates; those tables stopped at 2019, and the national minimum wage is now the floor. Check what you pay against the minimum wage calculator.
Tips are not wages. Section 5 of the National Minimum Wage Act excludes gratuities, tips included, from the wage calculation, and clause 2 of Sectoral Determination 14 says the same for hospitality. A waiter on a quiet Tuesday who makes R40 in tips is still owed the full minimum wage for every hour, from you.
The law does not decide who owns a tip once it is given. Pooling with the kitchen, a card-tip payout through payroll, or a split with the bar are your rules to set. Write the rule down, tell new staff on their first shift, and pay it out the same way every time. Most tip disputes are about a rule that changed without notice, not about the rule itself.
Working hours, meal breaks and overtime in a restaurant
Ordinary hours
No more than 45 hours a week: 9 a day for a five-day week, 8 a day for a longer one (BCEA s9).
Overtime
Only by agreement, no more than 10 hours a week, and at least one and a half times the hourly wage (s10). Including overtime, nobody works more than 12 hours in a day.
Meal interval
One continuous hour after five hours of continuous work, shortened to 30 minutes by written agreement, or dropped for staff working under six hours a day (SD14 clause 16 and BCEA s14).
Rest between shifts
At least 12 consecutive hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next, and a weekly rest of 36 consecutive hours, which includes Sunday unless agreed otherwise (s15). A close followed by an open breaks the first rule.
Managers above the threshold
Staff earning above the BCEA earnings threshold are outside the hours, overtime, Sunday and night-work rules (s6(3)). Most restaurant staff are well below it.
Sunday and public holiday pay for restaurant staff
Sunday is an ordinary trading day for most restaurants, which is exactly why the rate matters. Section 16 sets one and a half times the hourly wage for staff who ordinarily work Sundays, and double for staff who do not. Public holidays are worked only by agreement, and a public holiday worked on a normal working day pays at least double (s18).
Worked example: a waiter on R35 an hour, an 8-hour shift
| Ordinary weekday | 8 × R35 | R280 |
| Sunday, ordinarily works Sundays | 8 × R35 × 1.5 | R420 |
| Sunday, does not ordinarily work Sundays | 8 × R35 × 2 | R560 |
| Public holiday on a normal working day | 2 × R280 (s18(2)) | R560 |
December is where these multiply. A roster that puts the same staff on the 16th, the 25th and the 1st needs their agreement, and the payroll needs to know which of them ordinarily work Sundays before the month closes.
Late shifts and night work
Any work after 18:00 is night work under section 17 of the BCEA, and that covers most dinner service. It is lawful only by agreement, with an allowance or reduced working hours, and with transport available between home and work at the start and end of the shift. Staff who regularly work more than an hour after 23:00 must also be told of the health risks and offered a medical examination.
The Act sets no percentage for the allowance. The full rules, with a worked example, are in the night shift allowance guide.
Breakages, till shortages and uniforms
Broken glasses and short tills are the most common deduction in the trade and the most commonly unlawful one. Section 34 of the BCEA allows a deduction for loss or damage only when all of these are true:
- the employee agreed to the deduction in writing;
- the loss happened at work and was caused by their fault, not by a busy Friday;
- you followed a fair procedure and gave them a reasonable chance to explain;
- the amount is no more than the actual loss; and
- all such deductions stay within one quarter of their pay.
A blanket “breakages come off your wages” rule fails most of those tests. Uniforms are simpler: under clause 7B of Sectoral Determination 14, a uniform you provide may not be charged for, deposited for or deducted.
Casual, part-time and seasonal staff
“Casual” is not a category the BCEA recognises. A weekend waiter is an employee, with a written statement of particulars, leave that accrues once they work 24 hours a month or more, and UIF contributions. Rolling fixed-term contracts for the December season need a reason on paper; the fixed-term contract template explains the three-month rule, and the employment contract template covers permanent staff.
Five restaurant labour law mistakes that cost the most
Counting tips towards the wage
Excluded by statute. The hourly minimum comes from you.
One Sunday rate for everyone
Staff who do not ordinarily work Sundays are owed double, not time and a half.
Deducting breakages by default
Without a written agreement, a finding of fault and the 25% cap, it is an unlawful deduction.
Close then open
Less than 12 hours between shifts breaks the daily rest rule, however willing the staff member is.
No time records
The BCEA requires records of time worked and pay to be kept for three years (s31). Without them, every Sunday and overtime claim is your word against theirs.
Your roster already knows the answers. Your records usually do not.
Every rule on this page is calculated from the same facts: who worked, which day, from when to when, and whether they agreed to it. In most restaurants those facts live in a WhatsApp roster, a clocking machine and the manager’s memory. Synthro keeps clock-ins, leave and staff records on one employee record, so Sunday and overtime hours are visible before payroll closes, not argued about after.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage for restaurant workers in South Africa in 2026?
R30.23 per hour from 1 March 2026, the national minimum wage, which applies to waiters, kitchen staff, baristas and cleaners alike. Tips do not count towards it: both the National Minimum Wage Act and Sectoral Determination 14 exclude gratuities from the wage an employer must pay.
Can a restaurant use tips to pay waiters’ wages?
No. Tips are excluded from the wage calculation by section 5 of the National Minimum Wage Act and by clause 2 of Sectoral Determination 14 for the hospitality sector. A waiter must earn at least the minimum wage for every hour worked, from the employer, before a single tip is counted.
Who do tips belong to in South Africa?
No statute says. The law settles what tips may not be used for, which is topping up wages to the minimum. How tips are shared, pooled with the kitchen or paid out from card machines is a rule the restaurant sets, and it should be written down and applied the same way on every shift.
How much must a restaurant pay for Sunday work?
One and a half times the hourly wage for an employee who ordinarily works Sundays, and double for one who does not (BCEA section 16). If a short Sunday shift earns less than the ordinary daily wage at those rates, the employee gets the ordinary daily wage instead.
Can I deduct breakages or till shortages from a waiter’s pay?
Only if the employee agreed in writing to the deduction, the loss was caused by their fault, you followed a fair procedure and gave them a chance to explain, the amount is no more than the actual loss, and all such deductions stay within a quarter of their pay (BCEA section 34).
Can a restaurant charge staff for uniforms?
No. Clause 7B of Sectoral Determination 14 says an employer who provides a uniform may not make the employee pay for it, take a deposit for it, or deduct its cost or a deposit from their pay.
How long is a lunch break for restaurant staff?
At least one continuous hour after five hours of continuous work. By written agreement it can be shortened to 30 minutes, or dropped for staff who work fewer than six hours a day. During the break, staff may only be asked to do work that cannot be left unattended and nobody else can do.
Must a restaurant provide transport for late shifts?
Transport has to be available between home and work at the start and end of a shift that runs after 18:00, and night work also needs an allowance or reduced hours (BCEA section 17). The Act does not say the employer must drive staff home, but it does say a night shift cannot be worked without transport being available.
