Pub and Restaurant Employment Contracts
This collection contains employment contracts tailored for roles in pubs, restaurants and catering environments. The templates cover general catering staff roles as well as role-specific contracts for bar staff, waiting staff and food handlers.
Legal compliance and Employment Rights Act update
These employment contracts have been drafted and kept up to date by employment solicitors and HR professionals. The contracts have been updated to reflect the statutory sick pay changes set by the Employment Rights Act, under which SSP is now payable from the first full day of sickness absence.
Use these contracts for pub, restaurant and catering roles
The templates are designed for the kinds of operational and customer-facing roles commonly found in hospitality businesses. Each contract is targeted at a particular role or working pattern, so employers can select the most suitable starting point for the job they are hiring for.
The Catering Staff Employment Contract (Full Time) is suitable for a full-time catering role, while the Catering Staff Employment Contract (Part-time) provides an equivalent starting point where the role is part-time.
Bar staff, waiting staff and food handler contracts
For customer-facing pub or bar work, the Bar Staff Employment Contract is tailored to bar staff roles. The Waiter/Waitress Employment Contract is designed for waiting staff in restaurants, pubs and similar hospitality settings.
The Food Handler Employment Contract is aimed at roles involving food handling, where hygiene and food-handling expectations are particularly relevant.
Pub, cafe and restaurant offer letters
An employment offer letter is usually issued before or alongside the contract of employment, so the offer, role, working pattern and contractual terms are consistent from the outset. The matching Pub, Cafe and Restaurant Employment Offer Letters can be used when making an offer for bar staff, waiting staff, food handling or catering roles.
Hospitality-specific terms reflected in the contracts
Depending on which contract is used, the wording may cover practical points that often arise in a pub, restaurant or catering setting, including staff rotas and working patterns, tips and gratuities arrangements, hygiene and food-handling expectations, stock control and security measures, and secondary employment restrictions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which contract should I use for a new member of bar staff in my pub? +
Use the Bar Staff Employment Contract from this collection. It is tailored to pub and bar roles and includes a drugs and alcohol clause that allows you to carry out random breath and drugs tests on employees who are suspected of being under the influence. The contract satisfies the day-one written-statement requirement under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, so it must be given to the employee or worker on or before their first day.
Do I need a different contract for part-time kitchen staff compared with full-time catering staff? +
Not necessarily. There is no legal requirement to use a separate part-time contract. The only relevant duties are to provide a written statement of particulars on or before the employee's first day of employment, which must accurately state the actual hours, and not to treat part-time staff less favourably than a comparable full-time worker, pro rata, unless this can be objectively justified. As GOV.UK puts it, part-time workers are protected from being treated less favourably than equivalent full-time workers just because they are part time. A correctly completed single contract template would comply just as well. That said, this collection includes two separate catering staff templates: the Catering Staff Employment Contract (Full Time) for full-time roles and the Catering Staff Employment Contract (Part-time) for part-time roles. Using the version that matches the actual working pattern is sensible practice because it ensures the working hours and related terms reflect the post correctly from day one.
What employment contract should I use for a food handler in my restaurant? +
Use the Food Handler Employment Contract from this collection. It is aimed specifically at roles involving food handling and includes wording around hygiene and food-handling expectations, which are particularly relevant for that type of role. If you also need to make a job offer before issuing the contract, the companion Pub, Cafe and Restaurant Employment Offer Letters collection includes a matching offer letter for food handling roles.
My hospitality staff contracts still refer to a three-day SSP waiting period. Do I need to update them? +
Yes. From 6 April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 removed the three-day waiting period for statutory sick pay (SSP) and abolished the lower earnings limit, so SSP is now payable from the first full day of sickness absence to all eligible employees regardless of earnings. Any contract or policy that refers to waiting days or the lower earnings limit is now out of date. The templates in this collection have been updated to reflect this change.
How should our pub or restaurant contracts deal with tips and gratuities now that the tipping law has changed? +
Pass all qualifying tips, gratuities and service charges to workers in full (only tax deductions permitted) and allocate them fairly under the statutory Code of Practice, as required by the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, fully in force from 1 October 2024. Where tips are left more than occasionally you must also have a written tipping policy. Contracts in this collection include wording covering tips and gratuities arrangements; ensure your tipping policy and contractual wording are consistent with the Act and the Code.
Should I issue an offer letter before giving a new bar or waiting staff member their employment contract? +
Yes, issuing an offer letter first is good practice. It sets out the offer, role, working pattern and key terms before the full contract is signed, helping ensure everything is consistent from the outset. The Pub, Cafe and Restaurant Employment Offer Letters collection provides matching offer letters for bar staff, waiting staff, food handling and catering roles, designed to be used alongside the contracts in this collection.
