Long Kitchen Shifts With No Overtime — What Am I Owed?
Last updated: March 2026 · MA000119
If your kitchen shifts regularly exceed 7.6 hours and there's no overtime on your payslip, you're almost certainly being underpaid. The daily overtime trigger under the Restaurant Industry Award is 7.6 hours for permanent employees — much lower than many kitchen workers realise.
If you regularly work 10-hour kitchen shifts — check your overtime now.
The rule
Under the Restaurant Industry Award (MA000119) for permanent employees:
- Daily overtime triggers after 7.6 hours
- First 2 hours of overtime: paid at 1.5× the ordinary rate
- After 2 hours of overtime: paid at 2× the ordinary rate
- A 10-hour shift = 7.6 ordinary hours + 2 hours at 1.5× + 0.4 hours at 2×
What you should be paid
Level 4 permanent — 10-hour shift
- Ordinary rate: $28.12/hr
- 7.6 hours ordinary: $213.71
- 2 hours at 1.5× ($42.18/hr): $84.36
- 0.4 hours at 2× ($56.24/hr): $22.50
- Correct total for 10-hour shift: $320.57
- If paid flat rate for 10 hours: $281.20
- Daily shortfall: $39.37
Five 10-hour shifts per week at the wrong rate: $196.85/week, or $9,842.50/year in missed overtime.
Rates based on the Fair Work Commission pay guide for MA000119, effective 1 July 2025.
What this costs you
Kitchen culture often normalises long shifts without overtime pay. But a chef working five 10-hour shifts per week without proper overtime is losing roughly $196.85/week — close to $9,842.50/year. The longer the shift, the worse it gets: hours beyond the 2-hour overtime mark are at double time.
What to check on your payslip
- Are your hours split into ordinary and overtime on each shift?
- Does overtime appear at 1.5× for the first 2 hours, then 2× after?
- Does the daily trigger match 7.6 hours (not 8 or 10)?
Frequently asked questions
Does the 7.6-hour trigger apply to casual employees?
No. For casual employees, the daily overtime trigger is 12 hours, not 7.6 hours. The 7.6-hour daily trigger applies to permanent (full-time and part-time) employees.
My employer calls it "a long shift" — does the label matter?
No. What your employer calls the shift is irrelevant. If you are a permanent employee and work more than 7.6 hours in a day, the excess hours are overtime under the award, regardless of labelling.
Can I claim back unpaid overtime?
Yes. You can claim unpaid overtime for up to 6 years under the Fair Work Act. Kitchen workers regularly doing 10+ hour shifts without overtime pay can be owed very substantial amounts.
Working long kitchen shifts? Check what your overtime should actually be.
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General information only. Verify at fairwork.gov.au.