The Hospitality Industry (General) Award [MA000009] ("HIGA") is an Australian piece of legislation, so this article is only relevant for customers in Australia, using the HIGA for their business.
This article explains exactly which clauses of the HIGA Loaded covers and how they'll apply to your team. For more context and information on general Australian Awards concepts in Loaded, read our Australian Awards in Loaded article.
What you need to know before using Loaded's Hospitality Industry (General) Award
The HIGA as a piece of legislation sets out the rules for a huge range of required pay rates and employment conditions for staff members. Loaded's focus is on the most common situations that arise for hospitality industry businesses, and where a pay adjustment to a staff member's base hourly rate is required.
Below is a list of areas that we don't currently support, or only support in certain situations:
Breaks: Loaded does not automatically add breaks. Breaks need to be added manually to each shift, or the employee can clock out when they go on a break using the new Loaded Timeclock App. For more information on how to do this, take a look at our article How to add breaks to your staff timeclocks.
Minimum shift length: Loaded doesn't add the required pay adjustment when the minimum shift length isn't met, you need to do this manually.
Rostered day off (RDO): Loaded doesn't recognise if a shift takes place on an RDO. Any pay adjustments due for an RDO need to be manually applied.
Multi-week or multi-roster overtime: Loaded doesn't calculate overtime across the average hours over multiple weeks or rosters. Overtime will only be calculated each week when the staff member works more than 38 hours for that week.
Rest between shifts: Loaded doesn't flag when the minimum rest between shifts or a changeover of rosters hasn't been met.
Agreed schedule: Loaded doesn't allow for weekly agreed schedules. Any adjustments for work outside of agreed weekly schedules need to be added manually.
Higher duties: Loaded only applies pay adjustments based on the Pay Classification set for that staff member for the role they clock in for. If that staff member works at a higher classification for any length of time, Loaded will not automatically apply a higher duties adjustment, this needs to be applied manually.
Superannuation for staff under 18: Loaded does not automatically calculate superannuation for staff members under 18 depending on whether they have worked more or less than 30 hours. This is something you need to calculate in Xero.
Other areas of the HIGA not covered by Loaded: Travel time; Public holidays - additional day off agreed; Time off in lieu; Allowances (split shifts, tools & equipment, meals). These can be managed in your Payroll system.
Known Constraints
We're refining a few parts of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award Pay Adjustment Package to make sure it's exactly what a hospitality business needs to manage their team. Keep an eye out for updates and enhancement news from us. Issues and constraints we're currently aware of are:
Leave accrual calculation when working overtime on a public holiday: We're still refining the way we calculate the HIGA rules that apply to working overtime on a public holiday. If you have a staff member that works overtime on a public holiday, reach out to us and we can help you get the calculations right.
What parts of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award does Loaded cover?
Automated Base Pay Rates
Penalty Rates
Overtime
Breaks
Automated Base Pay Rates
Base Pay Rates for Adults
Loaded automates an adult staff member's base pay rate using the Pay Classification assigned to the role they clock in for. Note that this base rate is exclusive of the 25% Casual loading which is added separately to all hours worked by Casual staff.
HIGA Pay Classifications & Base Rates*
Pay Classification | Base Rate |
Introductory Level | 24.28 |
Level 1 | 24.95 |
Level 2 | 25.85 |
Level 3 | 26.70 |
Level 4 | 28.12 |
Level 5 | 29.88 |
Level 6 | 30.68 |
*Extract from HIGA table B.2.1, rates are up to date as of 1 July 2025.
Example in Loaded: if the staff member below clocks in for the Front of House team, Loaded will automate their base pay rate to $27.16.
Staff member's employment details: Time > Workforce > Staff Members > Staff Member 'Job' Tab > Employment Schedule
Staff member's Shift Breakdown: Time > Timeclock > Punches by Staff > Pay Rate (clickable blue value)
Base Rates for Juniors (younger than 20 years)
Age | % of Adult Base Rate | Example Junior Rate for Level 1 |
Under 17 | 50 | 12.48 |
17 | 60 | 14.97 |
18 | 70 | 17.47 |
19 | 85 | 21.21 |
20 | 100 | 24.95 |
*Pay rates based on HIGA table B.3.2, rates are up to date as of 1 July 2025.
Base Pay Rates for Casual Staff
Loaded automatically adds a 25% pay adjustment to staff members with the Employment Type set to Casual. You'll find this in the Job tab of the staff member's record:
Now each time this staff member clocks in for a shift, the 25% adjustment for casual staff applies:
Penalty Rates
Loaded automates the penalty rates that are found in Table 14, Clause 29.2 of the HIGA. The table below shows the specific pay rates applied. Loaded applies the pay rate to the staff member's shift worked, based on the days and hours they work.
Day & Time worked | Full & part-time employees | Casual employees (Introductory to Level 2) | Casual Employees (Level 3 to Level 6) |
Monday to Friday, 7:00am-7:00pm | 100% | 125% | 125% |
Monday to Friday, 7:00pm to midnight | 100% + $2.81 per hour or part hour | 125% + $2.81 per hour or part hour | 125% + $2.81 per hour or part hour |
Monday to Friday, midnight to 7:00am | 100% + $4.22 per hour or part hour | 125% + $4.22 per hour or part hour | 125% + $4.22 per hour or part hour |
Saturday | 125% | 150% | 150% |
Sunday | 150% | 150% | 175% |
Public Holiday | 225% | 250% | 250% |
% of the minimum base hourly rate for the staff member's pay classification.
Examples in Loaded
Monday to Friday, 7:00pm to midnight - $2.72 per hour applies for 1 hour of the shift below from 7:00pm to 8:00pm:
Saturday 25% of base pay rate applies for the total shift below worked on Saturday:
Overtime
Overtime hours are those that are worked over and above 'Ordinary hours of work' set out in the HIGA. The HIGA overtime clauses are very complex and designed to apply to a range of very specific circumstances and edge cases. Loaded automates the most common overtime situations for Full-Time, Part-Time and Casual staff members, but does not yet automate every overtime situation covered by the HIGA. Loaded does not automate overtime rates for salaried staff members.
What does the HIGA say about 'Ordinary hours of work'?*
| Full-time | Part-time | Casual |
Max. hours per day | 11.5 (excluding meal break) | 11.5 (excluding meal break) | 12 |
Max. hours per week | 38** | 38 | 38 |
*The above table only refers to the overtime situations that Loaded covers, it is not a complete list of what the HIGA says about ordinary hours of work and rostering arrangements.
**The HIGA states an employee is a full-time employee if they work an average of 38 ordinary hours per week in a 4-week period. Loaded doesn't currently calculate the average number of hours worked across a 4-week period.
Loaded Overtime for Daily & Weekly Hours
When a staff member works more than the max. hours per day or per week set out in the table above, Loaded automatically applies overtime pay adjustments as follows:
Day & Time when Overtime is Worked | Pay adjustment applied |
Monday to Friday, first 2 hours | 150% |
Monday to Friday, after 2 hours | 200% |
Saturday, first 2 hours | 175% |
Saturday, after 2 hours | 200% |
Sunday, all hours | 200% |
% of the minimum base hourly rate for the staff member's pay classification.
Examples in Loaded
Daily Overtime: in the example below, the staff member worked on a weekday for 13 hours, 1.5 hours over the 11.5 hours per day maximum, so Loaded applies the 50% additional pay adjustment to those 1.5 hours.
Weekly overtime: in the example below the staff member worked 39 hours for the week, 1 hour over the 38 hours per week maximum, so Loaded applies the 50% additional pay adjustment to that 1 hour.
Pay Adjustments for Overtime not automated in Loaded
Note it is possible to manually add a pay adjustment to a staff member's shift from the Staff Clocks page for any of the scenarios below - click here to find out how.
Working 10+ ordinary hours on three consecutive days without a 48 hour break
Working 10+ ordinary hours on 8 days in a 4 week cycle
Less than 8 days off over a 4 week period
Working split shifts over a spread of more than 12 hours
Working outside rostered hours or on a rostered day off
Less than 8 hours rest after working overtime
Averaging over a roster cycle which is more than one week
A rest period of under 8 hours between ordinary shifts after a roster changeover
A rest period of under 10 hours between ordinary shifts
A junior employee working more than 10+ hours in a day
Breaks
Loaded automates pay adjustments for missed breaks when a staff member works more than 6 continuous hours without a break. The adjustment applies until the staff member takes a break, or their shift ends.
Hours worked without a break | Pay adjustment applied |
More than 6 | 150% |
% of the minimum base hourly rate for the staff member's pay classification
Example in Loaded
In the example below, the staff member worked for 7 hours without a break so Loaded automatically applies a 50% adjustment for the 1 hour period from when the staff member was entitled a break until the shift ended.
Pay adjustments for Breaks not automated in Loaded
A staff member misses the rostered time of a meal break
Facilitation agreements (agreeing to a break within the first 6.5 hours of work)
FAQ
What if your venue has an agreement with a staff member to pay them an hourly rate that is higher than the base hourly rate set by the HIGA? In the Payrate Type field for that staff member's role, select 'Manually set' and then add the hourly rate to the Pay Rate column. This sets their base hourly rate for that role, and any extra pay for overtime or penalties will be based on this rate. For example:
Disclaimer:
Loaded is designed to be used as a business tool to help you manage your hospitality business. We do not guarantee that by using Loaded you will be compliant with legislative requirements, including labour laws, wage requirements, and other regulatory obligations. We recommend that you seek professional advice for any concerns around legislative compliance.
The information provided in this article was accurate and up-to-date at the time of writing, but for the most recent changes and updates, please check the relevant piece(s) of legislation.