Cafe Employment Contract Template: What To Include

Mia runs a busy cafe in Wellington. She is hiring two baristas for the morning rush, a kitchen hand for weekends and a casual worker to cover staff absences. Everyone seems friendly and keen, so it can be tempting to send a quick text confirming pay and start date.

But cafe work moves fast. Rosters change, public holidays come around, tips are shared, uniforms get damaged and someone who was meant to be casual starts working the same shifts every week.

A well-drafted employment agreement gives you and your staff clarity from day one. It doesn't need to be full of legal jargon, but it does need to match how your cafe actually operates.

Do Cafe Staff Need A Written Employment Agreement?

Yes. In New Zealand, you need a written employment agreement for every employee, including baristas, kitchen staff, front-of-house staff, part-time workers and casual cafe workers.

The Employment Relations Act 2000 requires you to provide a written individual employment agreement. You also need to keep a signed copy, or keep the intended agreement if the employee hasn't signed it yet.

Before your staff member starts, you should give them a copy of the proposed agreement, tell them they can get independent advice, give them a reasonable chance to consider it and genuinely consider any issues they raise.

Your agreement should cover the basics, such as:

• the employee's name, role and start date
• whether the role is permanent, fixed-term or casual
• pay rate, pay cycle and any allowances
• hours of work, roster arrangements and availability
• where the employee will work
• leave entitlements under the Holidays Act 2003
• notice periods and termination process
• how employment relationship problems will be handled

For cafe and restaurant staff, the agreement should go further than the basics. Hospitality work has its own practical issues, like short-notice roster changes, public holiday trade, uniform standards, food safety, till use and tip pooling. If these aren't written clearly, you can end up relying on assumptions when you really need certainty.

What Should A Cafe Employment Contract Template Include?

A cafe employment contract template, or a tailored employment contract for cafe staff, should include the core legal terms plus hospitality-specific clauses that reflect the way your cafe runs day to day.

A template can be a helpful starting point, but it shouldn't be treated as a finished legal document. A lawyer should tailor it before you use it, especially if you have a mix of casual, part-time and full-time staff.

Fill-In Outline For Your Cafe Employment Agreement

1. Parties: Write your business name, NZBN if you have one, and the employee's full legal name.
2. Role And Duties: Describe the position, such as barista, kitchen hand or front-of-house assistant, and include flexible duties that reasonably fit the role.
3. Employment Type: State whether the role is full-time, part-time, fixed-term or casual, and make sure the wording matches the real arrangement.
4. Start Date And Trial Period: Include the start date and, if you're using one, a valid 90-day trial period clause agreed and signed before work starts.
5. Hours And Rosters: Set out usual hours, availability, minimum or expected shifts, how rosters are issued and how changes are handled.
6. Pay And Benefits: Record the hourly rate or salary, pay cycle, overtime rules, allowances, deductions and KiwiSaver position.
7. Breaks: Explain rest and meal break arrangements, including how breaks are timed during busy service periods.
8. Leave And Public Holidays: Refer to annual holidays, sick leave, bereavement leave, family violence leave and public holiday entitlements.
9. Tips And Service Charges: State whether tips are kept individually, pooled or handled another way, and how they're distributed.
10. Uniforms And Appearance: Cover uniform supply, laundry expectations, grooming standards and when deductions may apply.
11. Confidentiality And Business Property: Protect recipes, supplier pricing, customer information, passwords, keys and point-of-sale access.
12. Health, Safety And Food Handling: Refer to hygiene rules, illness reporting, training and safe work procedures.
13. Termination And Notice: Set out notice periods, serious misconduct examples and the process for ending employment.

If you use the same document for everyone, be careful. A casual employment contract shouldn't promise set shifts, while a part-time employment agreement usually should record agreed hours or a clear roster pattern.

Should Cafe Staff Be Casual, Part-Time Or Full-Time?

It depends on how regular the work is, because the label in your contract won't override what actually happens in practice.

A casual employee is usually engaged shift by shift, with no firm advance commitment to ongoing work. You offer shifts, and they can accept or decline them. This can work well for covering sick leave, seasonal peaks or events.

A part-time employee works fewer than full-time hours but usually has an ongoing role and a predictable pattern of work. For example, a barista who works Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings every week is likely to be part-time, not genuinely casual.

A full-time employee usually works your standard full-time hours on an ongoing basis.

Example: When Casual Starts Looking Part-Time

Say Mia hires Leo as a casual barista at NZ$25 per hour. At first, Leo covers random shifts when other staff are away. After two months, Mia rosters Leo every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 7am to 1pm, and Leo is expected to keep those days free.

Even if Leo's agreement says casual, the real arrangement is starting to look like ongoing part-time employment. Mia should update the agreement so it reflects the regular pattern, leave treatment and notice expectations.

You should also be cautious about using a contractor agreement when someone is really working like an employee. From 2026, the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 changes include a contractor gateway test designed to give more certainty in genuine contractor arrangements. Still, regular cafe staff who wear your uniform, work your roster, use your equipment and follow your directions will often be employees in substance.

How Should Rosters, Breaks And Public Holidays Work?

Your agreement should set out roster rules clearly, because roster misunderstandings are one of the most common pressure points in hospitality.

You can include when rosters are published, how employees request unavailable days, whether shifts can be swapped and who must approve changes. If your cafe opens early, closes late or changes hours seasonally, say so.

Breaks are covered by the Employment Relations Act 2000. The exact timing can be agreed, but cafe owners need to plan around the minimum rest and meal break rules.

For example, for a shift of more than 6 hours and up to 8 hours, the usual minimum is:

• two paid 10-minute rest breaks
• one unpaid 30-minute meal break

For a shift of more than 4 hours and up to 6 hours, the usual minimum is one paid 10-minute rest break and one unpaid 30-minute meal break. For a shift of 2 hours or more, but no more than 4 hours, the usual minimum is one paid 10-minute rest break.

Public holidays need special care under the Holidays Act 2003. New Zealand has 12 public holidays each year. If an employee works on a public holiday, they're generally paid at least time and a half for the hours worked. If the public holiday is an otherwise working day for them, they usually also get an alternative holiday.

Worked example: Leo usually works Saturdays for 6 hours at NZ$25 per hour. If he works 6 hours on Waitangi Day and Saturday is otherwise a working day for him, he is paid at least NZ$37.50 per hour for those 6 hours, totalling NZ$225 before tax, and he also gets an alternative holiday.

Can You Use A 90-Day Trial Period For Cafe Employees?

Yes, but only if the legal requirements are met. A 90-day trial period isn't available for every employee in every situation.

Since changes that took effect in December 2023, 90-day trial periods have been available to employers of all sizes. For a cafe, this can be useful when you're testing whether someone is the right fit for a customer-facing role or a busy kitchen environment.

To rely on a 90-day trial period, you should make sure:

• the employee hasn't worked for you before
• the trial period starts at the beginning of the employee's employment
• the trial period is no longer than 90 calendar days
• the trial period is in the written employment agreement with the required wording
• the employee signs the agreement before they start work
• the clause says you may dismiss the employee during the trial period
• the agreement says the employee can't raise a personal grievance or other legal proceedings about their dismissal, except in limited circumstances
• you still give the notice required by the agreement

Trial periods aren't allowed for workers on an Accredited Employer Work Visa, and additional restrictions may apply for some migrant workers. Check the employee's visa position before relying on a trial period clause.

A trial period doesn't remove every risk. Employees can still raise other types of employment issues, such as discrimination, harassment, unpaid wages or unjustified disadvantage. You should still act fairly, keep good records and avoid using trial periods casually.

There's a separate concept called a probationary period. Probation can be used to assess performance, but it doesn't have the same effect as a valid 90-day trial period. If you want a trial period, the wording needs to be clear.

What Hospitality-Specific Clauses Should You Add?

You should add clauses that deal with the practical realities of running a cafe, not just generic office-style employment terms.

For many cafe owners, the most useful clauses are the ones that prevent small day-to-day issues from becoming awkward conversations later.

Tips And Service Charges

If customers leave tips, decide how they will be handled. Your agreement or policy can say whether tips are:

• kept by the staff member who receives them
• pooled and shared between eligible staff
• distributed based on hours worked
• handled differently for cash tips and electronic tips

Be clear about timing and records. If you charge a service fee, don't describe it in a way that could mislead customers under the Fair Trading Act 1986.

Uniforms, Appearance And Deductions

If you require a uniform, say who provides it, who pays for it and what happens when employment ends. Be careful with deductions from wages. You usually need proper written consent, and deductions must be lawful and reasonable.

Food Safety, Illness And Hygiene

Your agreement should support your food safety processes. Include duties to follow hygiene procedures, report illness before a shift and complete required training. This protects your customers, your team and your reputation.

Confidentiality And Systems Access

Cafe employees may access recipes, supplier prices, discount codes, customer booking details, social media accounts and point-of-sale systems. Your agreement should require staff to keep business information confidential and return keys, cards and devices when employment ends.

If you collect staff information for payroll, rostering or apps, the Privacy Act 2020 applies. Keep collection limited to what you need, store information securely and be clear about how you use it.

What Are Common Mistakes To Avoid?

The biggest mistake is using a generic template that doesn't match the way your cafe actually works.

Here are the issues worth checking before you hand over an agreement:

• Calling someone casual when the roster is fixed: If the employee has regular shifts and an ongoing expectation of work, consider a part-time employment contract instead.
• Leaving pay details vague: State the hourly rate, pay cycle and whether any allowances apply. Check the current minimum wage before issuing the agreement. From 1 April 2026, the adult minimum wage is NZ$23.95 per hour, while the starting-out and training minimum wages are NZ$19.16 per hour.
• Forgetting breaks: If you don't plan breaks around service peaks, staff may miss their entitlements and you may have payroll or compliance problems.
• Using a trial period incorrectly: A 90-day trial period needs to be agreed and signed before work begins, the employee must not have worked for you before, and the trial must start at the beginning of employment.
• Missing migrant worker limits: You can't use a 90-day trial period for a worker on an Accredited Employer Work Visa, and you should check whether any other visa conditions affect the role.
• Not recording public holiday arrangements: Hospitality businesses often trade on public holidays, so your agreement and payroll setup need to handle time and a half and alternative holidays properly.
• Ignoring leave eligibility for casuals: Some casual arrangements can use pay-as-you-go holiday pay if the Holidays Act rules are met, but this needs careful wording and clear payslips.
• No process for shift swaps: Make it clear that shift swaps need manager approval so you can control coverage, skills and labour costs.

Before your next hire starts, a practical checklist is:

1. Choose the correct employment type.
2. Prepare a tailored written agreement.
3. Give the employee time to review it and ask questions.
4. Check the employee hasn't worked for you before if you want to use a 90-day trial period.
5. Get the agreement signed before the first shift, especially if using a trial period.
6. Set up payroll correctly for wages, KiwiSaver, leave, public holidays and deductions.
7. Keep the signed agreement and any roster or availability records.

Key Takeaways

• Every cafe employee in New Zealand needs a written employment agreement, including casual staff.
• Your agreement should cover hospitality-specific issues like rosters, breaks, public holidays, tips, uniforms and food safety.
• The right employment type matters. A regular weekly roster can turn a casual arrangement into something that looks part-time.
• 90-day trial periods can be used only if the legal requirements are met, including signing before work starts and checking migrant worker restrictions.
• Public holiday pay, alternative holidays and break rules need to be built into your rostering and payroll processes.
• A template is only a starting point. Your document should be tailored to how your cafe actually operates.

If you'd like help with cafe employment agreements, casual worker contracts, trial period clauses or rostering and public holiday terms, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.