Low-paid restaurant and cafe staff will lose some of their penalty rates for working on Sundays after a long-awaited decision by the industrial tribunal.

The decision means that the loading for working on Sundays will drop from 75 per cent to 50 per cent for some casual workers from July.

Short straw: Jordan Leser, left, and Eliza Fawcett at the Shortlist cafe in Darlington. Credit:Tamara Dean

The restaurant and catering industries immediately lauded the changes, estimating that businesses would save $112 million each year.

The decision was made by the Fair Work Commission, though two members of the commission issued a strongly worded dissenting judgment.