Restaurants, cafés and caterers become bound by a bargaining council agreement on Monday 26 October. The Minister of Employment and Labour gazetted the extension on Friday 16 October. FEDHASA is assembling an urgent court challenge to it.
Government Gazette No. 55542 carries Notice 4196 of 2026. Minister Nomakhosazana Meth declares the Main Collective Agreement of the Bargaining Council for the Fast Food, Restaurant, Catering and Allied Trades binding on non-parties. The power comes from section 32(2) of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995. The notice runs from the second Monday after publication, which is 26 October 2026, to 31 August 2028.
Two wage ceilings in print
The gazetted schedule sets hourly rates from R32.92 for entry classifications to R57.65 for chefs, managers and sous chefs. Those rates cover 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027. From 1 June 2027 they run from R35.22 to R61.69.
FEDHASA prints the top of that range as R57.23. The gazette prints R57.65.
FEDHASA starts its range at R30.23, the national minimum wage figure. The gazette carries a proviso in place of a floor. Where a prescribed rate falls below the national minimum wage it rises to the statutory figure. A small employer may reduce prescribed wages by up to 10 per cent.
The schedule already governs rates from 1 June 2026. The extension adds no fresh increase on 26 October and carries a further step on 1 June 2027.
Provident fund, funeral cover and levies
Clause 21(C) makes membership of the Momentum Funds At Work Umbrella Provident Fund compulsory for every employee except casuals, up to the age of 65. The employer deducts 5 per cent of wages each month and adds 5 per cent of its own.
FEDHASA also lists contributions to a funeral scheme among the obligations.
Clause 21(1) sets two deductions per employee per month. The council expense levy is R7.00. The dispute-resolution levy is R5.00. Clause 21(2) requires the employer to match both, which puts R24.00 per employee per month into council funds. Annexure 1 adds R30.00 per establishment or branch per month, paid by the employer alone.
FEDHASA prints council levies as R16 per employee per month, shared between employer and employee, plus a R25 monthly levy per establishment payable by the employer.
The bonus line and the uniform line
Clause 9 sets the annual bonus at one week of wages after 12 consecutive months of service and two weeks after 24.
FEDHASA tells members the agreement imposes a minimum annual bonus equal to two weeks of salary.
Clause 7 requires the employer to supply and maintain uniforms free of charge. It caps any employee deposit at R25.39, or the actual cost to the employer less VAT. The clause carries no cleaning allowance. FEDHASA lists a uniform cleaning allowance of R17.50 a week.
Where the agreement reaches
Annexure 1 sets the registered scope. The agreement covers the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. It covers North West apart from the Brits and Rustenburg magisterial districts, Mpumalanga apart from Witbank, and Limpopo apart from Warmbaths. In Gauteng it covers the districts of Heidelberg, Nigel, Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark, Oberholzer, Meyerton and Carletonville.
FEDHASA tells members the decision carries implications for hospitality businesses across South Africa.
The hotel exclusion
Annexure 1 excludes casino and hotel industry activity from the scope where the hotel or casino manages and operates that activity solely and exclusively as an integral part of its business. Club catering facilities and supermarket food outlets are excluded on the terms the annexure sets. Filling-station convenience operations sit outside the scope, apart from separately registered restaurant operations.
FEDHASA goes to the Labour Court
FEDHASA calls the extension a matter for urgent legal scrutiny. Its notice of 19 October asked affected employers to join an interdict application by 17:00 on Tuesday 20 October and to contribute to the legal costs. The form asks for the entity name, the employee count and the details of an authorised signatory.
The association points to an earlier win. The Labour Court granted FEDHASA an urgent interdict on 2 March 2021 against the previous extension of the same agreement. FEDHASA is coordinating a fresh application on the current notice. The 20 October participation deadline has passed. No filed application, case number or court date sits on the public record as of 21 October 2026.
Monday stands
The notice runs from 26 October regardless of the challenge. FEDHASA describes the timetable for legal action as extremely tight.