Australia Cafe Weekend vs Public Holiday Contribution Template (2026): Penalty-Rate Math Before You Set Surcharges

Holiday trade can feel busy and still underperform. Volume hides margin problems when labour multipliers jump.

If your menu floor is the same for Saturday and public holiday, this template will usually find leakage.

Quick Summary

• Model Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday separately.
• Use real labour minutes per dish, not roster hours only.
• Build required price ex-GST, then convert to displayed price.
• Align surcharge wording across menu board, POS, and delivery channels.

Why This Matters in 2026

ABS reported CPI up 3.8% in the year to December 2025 (released 28 January 2026), with meals out and takeaway foods at 3.5%.

At the same time, the Hospitality Industry (General) Award pay guide shows materially higher penalty rates on weekends and public holidays, including:

• Full-time/part-time: Saturday 125%, Sunday 150%, public holiday 225%
• Casual: Saturday 150%, Sunday 175%, public holiday 250%

That spread is large enough to flip item contribution if pricing logic is flat.

Core Template Formula

loadedLabourPerDish = (baseHourlyRate x penaltyMultiplier x oncostFactor x labourMinutesPerDish) / 60

requiredExGstPrice = (foodCost + loadedLabourPerDish + packaging + channelVariableCost)
                     / (1 - targetMargin)

displayedPrice = requiredExGstPrice x 1.10

Worked Example (One Brunch SKU)

Assume:

• Food cost: AUD 7.20
• Base hourly rate: AUD 30.00
• Oncost factor: 1.12
• Labour minutes per dish: 8
• Packaging and variable costs: AUD 0.95
• Target margin: 32%

Saturday (125%):

loadedLabourPerDish = (30.00 x 1.25 x 1.12 x 8) / 60 = AUD 5.60
requiredExGstPrice = (7.20 + 5.60 + 0.95) / 0.68 = AUD 20.22
displayedPrice = 20.22 x 1.10 = AUD 22.24

Public holiday (225%):

loadedLabourPerDish = (30.00 x 2.25 x 1.12 x 8) / 60 = AUD 10.08
requiredExGstPrice = (7.20 + 10.08 + 0.95) / 0.68 = AUD 26.81
displayedPrice = 26.81 x 1.10 = AUD 29.49

Same dish, same recipe, very different price floor. That is why day-type templates matter.

Weekend vs Public Holiday Checklist

1. Pull top 15 SKU labour minutes from real service data.
2. Assign day-type penalty multipliers by staff mix.
3. Calculate separate Saturday, Sunday, and holiday price floors.
4. Decide channel action: base-price change, surcharge, or mix adjustment.
5. Confirm surcharge communication is clear and visible.
6. Sync POS, dine-in menu, and delivery listings.
7. Review 14-day post-event contribution by SKU.

Common Mistakes

1. Applying one labour assumption across all day types.
2. Pricing from wage headlines without penalty multipliers.
3. Running margin checks only on GST-inclusive receipts.
4. Updating POS but not in-store menu or delivery channels.

Related Guides

• Australia Restaurant Surcharge Guide
• Australia Menu Pricing Guide
• Australia Restaurant Labour Cost Calculator
• Australia Public Holiday Surcharge Pricing Checklist (2026)
• Australia Menu Price Review Checklist

KitchenCost helps owner-operators compare day-type costs quickly so high-volume service days still produce healthy contribution.

Try KitchenCost.

Sources (checked on 2026-02-14)

• ABS - CPI rose 3.8% in the year to December 2025
• Fair Work - Hospitality Industry (General) Award pay guide (MA000009)
• ACCC - Price displays and surcharges
• ATO - How GST works
• Reddit: r/australia - eating out price pressure discussion