Food Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award

What is the Food beverage and tobacco manufacturing award?

The Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Manufacturing Award is a legal regulation in Australia that sets minimum standards for pay, working hours, leave entitlements, and other employment conditions in the food, beverage, and tobacco manufacturing industry.

It ensures fair treatment and protection of rights for employers and employees in this sector.

Who is entitled to Food beverage and tobacco manufacturing award?

The Food and Beverage Manufacturing Award applies to employers and employees in the food, beverage, and tobacco manufacturing industry, which involves a range of activities such as:

• preparing
• cooking
• baking
• blending
• brewing
• fermenting
• preserving
• filleting
• gutting
• freezing
• milling of food, beverage, and tobacco products. including stock feed and pet food.

Additionally, the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Award covers associated functions such as:

• receiving, storing and handling of ingredients and raw materials used to make food, beverage and tobacco products
• bottling, canning, packaging, labelling, palletising, storing, packing, despatching and preparing the products for sale
• cleaning and sanitising of tools, equipment and machinery used to make the products.

Employees covered by the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Award include:

• food processers
• qualified tradespersons in food processing
• producers of bottled water intended for human consumption
• production workers.

Moreover, the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Award also covers labour hire businesses and their employees who are placed within the food, beverage and tobacco industry.

To determine whether your staff fall under the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Award, it’s recommended to visit the Fair Work website.

Food beverage and tobacco manufacturing pay rates

Workstem has developed a comprehensive guide to help compliance with the Food beverage and tobacco manufacturing industry award rates.

If you’re uncertain about the applicable classifications, this guide can help you understand how to comply with Fair Work legislation, classify your employees correctly, and pay penalties and allowances in accordance with the hospitality award.

Ordinary and penalty rates

•   Full-time and part-time employees other than shiftworkers

Ordinary hours	Saturday	Sunday	Public holiday
% of ordinary hourly rate
100%	150%	200%	250%

*Rates in table are calculated based on the minimum hourly rate

• Full-time and part-time shiftworkers

All shiftworkers						Other than continuous shiftworkers		Continuous shiftworkers
Early morning shift	Afternoon shift or night shift	Afternoon or night shift not continuing		Permanent night shift	Saturday	Sunday	Public holiday	Sunday & Public holiday
		First 3 hours	After 3 hours
% of ordinary hourly rate
112.5%	115%	150%	200%	130%	150%	200%	250%	200%

*To learn more about the Afternoon or night shift not continuing, please refer to Fair Work.

**Rates in table are calculated based on the minimum hourly rate

•   Casual employees other than shiftworkers

Ordinary hours	Saturday	Sunday	Public holiday
% of casual ordinary hourly rate
100%	150%	200%	250%

*Rates in table are calculated based on the minimum hourly rate

• Casual shiftworkers

All shiftworkers						Other than continuous shiftworkers		Continuous shiftworkers
Early morning shift	Afternoon shift or night shift	Afternoon or night shift not continuing		Permanent night shift	Saturday	Sunday	Public holiday	Sunday & Public holiday
		First 3 hours	After 3 hours
% of casual ordinary hourly rate
112.5%	115%	150%	200%	130%	150%	200%	250%	200%

*To learn more about the Afternoon or night shift not continuing, please refer to Fair Work.

**Rates in table are calculated based on the minimum hourly rate

Overtime rates

•  Full-time and part-time employees other than shiftworkers

Monday to Saturday – first 3 hours	Monday to Saturday – after 3 hours	Sunday	Public holiday
% of ordinary hourly rate
150%	200%	200%	250%

*Rates in table are calculated based on the minimum hourly rate

• Full-time and part-time shiftworkers

Other than continuous shiftworkers		Continuous shiftworkers	Sunday	Other than continuous shiftworkers	Continuous shiftworkers
Monday to Saturday				Public holiday
First 3 hours	After 3 hours	All overtime worked	All overtime worked	All overtime worked	All overtime worked
% of ordinary hourly rate
150%	200%	200%	200%	250%	200%

*Rates in table are calculated based on the minimum hourly rate

• Casual employees other than continuous shiftworkers

Monday to Saturday		Sunday	Public Holiday
First 3 hours	After 3 hours
% of casual ordinary hourly rate
150%	200%	200%	250%

• Casual employee continuous shiftworkers

Monday to Sunday and Public Holidays(% of casual ordinary hourly rate)

200%

How to make payroll efficient with Workstem?

Simplify your payroll processes with Workstem’s all-in-one platform, handling onboarding, time and attendance, award interpretation, payroll, STP 2, superannuation and more.

Customise attendance entitlements, auto-track attendance data, streamline the payment process and keep compliance with Fair Work award through our AI Engine. Workstem provides a complete solution for efficient payroll management and regulatory compliance.

FAQs

Q:Do the food, beverage, and tobacco manufacturing industry employers be required to pay Award minimum wage?

A: Yes, the Award minimum wage is the minimum legal requirement that an employee must be paid if they are covered through the food beverage and tobacco manufacturing award. Employers are legally bound to comply with this.

Q:How do employers pay employees not covered under an Award?

A: If a business owner is in the food, beverage and tobacco industry, but a particular employee is not covered by the  food beverage and tobacco manufacturing award, then either the FWC’s national minimum wage or the state minimum wage applies.

Read more: Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award Guide  [MA000073]