A food handler is defined as a person who directly engages in the handling of food for a food business. Staff involved solely in administrative or clerical tasks are not considered food handlers. Additionally, staff involved solely on register/check out duties are not considered to be food handlers for the purposes of determining the annual administrative charge.
The award for retail premises employees generally involves a 38hr/week.
The number of full time equivalent (FTE) food handlers can be calculated as below:
No. of food handles x time handling food per week (hours) / 38 hours.
It should be noted that staff members who engage in the handling of food must have skills and knowledge in food safety and hygiene matters commensurate with their work activities.
The Food Act 2003 defines the handling of food as “includes the making, manufacturing, producing, collecting, extracting, processing, storing, transporting, delivering, preparing, treating, preserving, packing, cooking, thawing, serving or displaying of food’.