Fast Food Main Agreement Extended to Non-Parties
The Minister of Employment and Labour has extended the Main Collective Agreement of the Bargaining Council for the Fast Food, Restaurant, Catering and Allied Trades to employers and employees who are not members of the organisations that concluded the agreement. Published in Government Gazette 55542 on 16 October 2026, the extension takes effect on 26 October 2026 and remains binding until 31 August 2028.
Who is covered?
The agreement applies to establishments operating in the fast-food, restaurant, catering and allied trades. Its scope includes restaurants, tearooms, coffee shops, pubs, taverns, roadhouses, cafés, snack bars, fast-food outlets, convenience stores, as well as industrial, commercial, function and contract caterers. It also covers associated operations involved in preparing, baking, supplying, serving, processing or selling meals, food and beverages. Franchisors and certain bakeries selling products directly to customers are expressly included.
Geographically, it applies throughout the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal; to most of Northwest, Mpumalanga and Limpopo; and to the Gauteng-area magisterial districts of Heidelberg, Nigel, Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark, Oberholzer, Meyerton, and Carletonville. Certain hotel and casino operations, club catering facilities, filling-station convenience operations, and supermarket food outlets are excluded in the circumstances specified in the agreement.
Main Implications for Employers and Employees
Non-party employers within the registered scope must now comply with the agreement in the same way as employers who belong to the employer organisations that concluded it:
- Employers falling within the scope must register with the Council within 30 days.
- Such employers must comply with the prescribed wages, working hours, overtime payments, leave, annual bonuses, record-keeping requirements, levies, and benefit-fund obligations.
- Wage increases need to be taken into account. The current prescribed hourly rates range from R32.92 for several entry-level classifications to R57.65 for chefs, managers and sous chefs. From 1 June 2027, the corresponding rates will increase, ranging from R35.22 to R61.69 per hour. Employees earning more than the prescribed rates must receive an annual increase of at least 4%. If any prescribed rate falls below the national minimum wage, it must automatically be adjusted to the applicable statutory minimum.
- Compulsory funeral cover for qualifying employees and compulsory membership of the Momentum Funds At Work Umbrella Provident Fund for employees are covered by the relevant provisions. The provident fund requires an employee contribution of 5% of wages, matched by a 5% employer contribution. Council and dispute-resolution levies are also payable by employers and employees.
- The agreement regulates matters such as ordinary hours, overtime, Sunday and public holiday work, night work allowances, annual and sick leave, family-responsibility leave, parental and adoption leave, annual bonuses as well as termination payments.
- Employers must also display a copy of the agreement prominently at the workplace and make it available to employees on request.
What has changed?
The most important change is that the new agreement replaces the previous agreement, which expired on 31 August 2026, and extends the regulatory framework to 31 August 2028. The earlier agreement had similarly been extended to non-parties, but only for the period ending in August 2026.
The extension does not introduce an immediate general wage increase on 26 October 2026, but confirms the rates already applicable from 1 June 2026 and builds in a further increase from 1 June 2027. Its immediate practical effect is therefore to make the renewed agreement, its updated wage schedule and its compliance obligations legally binding on non-party employers and employees throughout the defined sector and areas.
Next Steps for Employers
Employers should review their operations, registration status, payroll settings, employment contracts, benefit fund participation and monthly contributions without delay.
Non-compliance may result in inspections, compliance orders, arbitration proceedings, recovery of outstanding amounts, and the imposition of fines or costs.
View the FAST FOOD Main Agreement 26 Oct 2026 Here.
