Business Insider SA reports that from this week, all restaurants and fast-food outlets in SA face a costly set of new rules for staff remuneration, which includes December bonuses and weekly payments to clean uniforms.
This comes after the Department of Employment and Labour extended the main collective agreement of the newly formed Bargaining Council for the Fast Food, Restaurant, Catering and Allied Trades to all employers – including those who are not part of the bargaining council. All restaurants and fast food outlets have a month to register with the council. Previously, restaurants were covered by the sectoral determination for the hospitality sector, which had far less stringent requirements. Under the new reqregime, all restaurants and fast-food outlets must pay wages that, even at the lowest level for waiters, exceed the national minimum wage by at least 7% (by 1 May 2021). Employers must increase wages by inflation (CPI) plus 1.5% in future, and will not be able to reduce the salaries of staff who have been paid higher-than-prescribed rates. Small businesses, which employ ten people or fewer, may pay employees 10% less than the prescribed wages, but not less than the national minimum wage. If employees are required to wash their own uniforms, they must be paid R17.50 per week. But, restaurants are now threatening legal action against government to stop the new bargaining council rules from taking effect. The new requirements come at a time when SA’s restaurant industry has been decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown laws.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luke Daniel at Business Insider SA
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