Mandatory signage in a restaurant: the rules to know

You, more than anyone else, are well placed to know that the activity of a restaurant is highly regulated, particularly in terms of signage. The law requires that you make certain information known to your customers, but also to your staff. And rightly so, because this information represents crucial social, health and safety issues. 

Whether it's mandatory or optional, inside or outside the establishment, it's sometimes hard to find your way around. We take you on a tour of the obligations of posting in the restaurant industry.

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Mandatory signage for the attention of customers

Whether you are about to open the doors of your restaurant for the first time or you are well established in the business, it is always a good idea to make sure that your establishment complies with the mandatory signage rules in effect. Let's start this overview with information for customers.

Smoking ban 

Since January 1, 2008, smoking has been prohibited in indoor and outdoor venues. Even if everyone seems to have integrated this practice a long time ago, you are still required to post the "no smoking" notice outside, at the building entrances, as well as inside your establishment. There can be no doubt about it. 

Do you have a designated smoking area? This area must be clearly indicated with a health warning. Remember also that minors under 16 years of age are not allowed. 

The restaurant license 

‍Thedisplay of your restaurant license is mandatory. In the event that you sell alcohol outside of meals, you must not only have a license to do so, but also have it listed with your restaurant license. There are two types of licenses for the sale of alcohol: 

• The license III which only allows the sale of alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, cider, liqueurs, etc. 
• The license IV which allows the sale of all types of alcohol, even strong alcohol.

Do your badge(s) appear on the front of your establishment? 

The days and hours of operation must also be visible on the outside of your restaurant or you risk a fine of 150€. 

Protection of minors and repression of public drunkenness

The regulations on the repression of public drunkenness and the protection of minors (prohibition of the sale of alcohol to persons under 18 years of age) are also part of the mandatory postings. 

This must be visible at the entrance of the restaurant or near the counter. You are not allowed to sell or offer free alcohol to a minor and this sign is there to prove it.

The fine for forgetting to post a sign is 150€.

The Departmental Health Regulations

Another compulsory display in your restaurant is the Règlement Sanitaire Départemental (RSD). This document is a sanitary regulation applicable to all the municipalities in your department.

Ticket printing on demand 

You are surely aware that from April 1, 2023, the printing of the receipt is no longer automatic. It will only be done upon request of the customer and you must inform him/her of this by means of a notice in a legible and comprehensible manner at the place where the payment is made. 

The origin of the meat

One of the rules to respect in terms of displaying the origin of the meats consumed in your restaurant.

What do we mean by this?

You must indicate the country where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. If it is the same country, then a simple mention "Origin: name of the country" is sufficient. If the birth, rearing and slaughter did not take place in the same country, it is imperative to specify each of them. This information can be displayed on a poster or on any other written support such as a slate or a sheet added to the menu. 

Until now, this obligation only applied to beef. It has been extended to poultry, pigs and sheep on March 1, 2022. Please note that this regulation does not apply to already prepared meat.

Failure to comply with this rule is punishable by a fine of 450€ (2,250€ for legal entities).

Food display 

The menu and the daily menu must be posted inside and outside your restaurant during the entire service period, at least from 11:30 am for lunch and 6 pm for dinner. You can use a slate, a menu holder, a printed menu, or a QR code menu.

You must also indicate whether or not beverages are included, what beverage is involved, and the hours of service if certain menus are only served at certain times of the day.

Be sure to use the exact names of the dishes and ingredients. The objective here is to give the customer a precise and realistic idea of what they will be tasting. 

👉 To go further: why adopt the QR code in your restaurant?

Display of beverages 

Drinks are also subject to specific display regulations. The wine list must be presented on a separate document or on the back of the menu. It must indicate the capacity served (bottle, pitcher, glass), the quantity in centiliters, the origin and the price.

You are free to add information such as the alcohol content, the vintage, the grape variety or the awards received. 

Finally, to be fully compliant with beverage display rules, you must indicate the ability for customers to request free drinking water.

Price display 

Inside and outside your restaurant, it is mandatory to display the price of the menu and the daily menu as well as the price of at least 5 wines or all the wines if your establishment sells less than 5 wines.

You do not offer wine? In this case, the price of 5 commonly served beverages must be stipulated. The posted prices include taxes and service.

Finally, since 2009, all products that have benefited from a VAT reduction must be indicated to the customer.

If these obligations are not respected, natural persons are liable to a fine of €1,500 and €7,500 for legal persons.

Allergens on the menu

To avoid potential health concerns for your customers, you must inform them of the possible presence of food allergens depending on the dishes served.

These include: 

• cereals containing gluten such as wheat, rye, barley, oats,
• with eggs,
• with shellfish,
• to mollusks,
• to fish,
• peanuts,
• with soy,
• with milk,
• nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts,
• with mustard,
• with celery,
• with sesame seeds,
• lupine,
• sulphites in concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/L.

The optional display

The display of payment methods is not mandatory, but customers like to have access to this information at a glance, if only to anticipate the payment of their meal. 

If you make homemade dishes, cooked or processed on site from fresh or raw products or traditional kitchen products (oil, butter, bread, etc.), then you can display the "homemade" mention or logo.

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Mandatory posting for the attention of the personnel 

You are now in good standing when it comes to displaying to your customers.

Now let's look at the information that needs to be brought to the attention of your staff.

Whether you are a small or large structure, here are the documents that you must display in your establishment: 

• the contact details of the work inspector and the work doctor,
• safety and fire instructions with the names of the persons in charge of the emergency equipment, evacuation instructions in case of fire, contact information for the fire department and instructions in case of an electrical accident,
• the reference of the collective agreement and the agreements applicable in the restaurant,
• Articles L. 3221-1 to L. 3221-7 of the Labor Code concerning equal pay for men and women,
• the catering schedule,
• the collective working hours and the duration of breaks,
• weekly days off,
• the smoking ban,
• the single document for the evaluation of professional risks.

If your restaurant has more than 11 employees, the procedure to follow to elect the members of the CSE (social and economic committee) and the trade union communications must also be posted. From 20 employees onwards, the posting of the internal regulations including the health and safety rules becomes mandatory.

For more than 50 employees, the names of the members of the CSE (social and economic committee), the location of their workstations, as well as information on the existence of a participation agreement are added to the list of postings required by law.

The risk incurred for not displaying this information to your employees is a €10,000 fine (€30,000 in the event of a repeat offence) and 1 year's imprisonment.

The following documents are also to be sent to employees, by posting or by any other means (hand-delivered in exchange for a signature, via intranet, etc): 

• the period of time during which leave is to be taken and the order of departure,
• Articles 222-33-2 and 222-33 of the Penal Code on moral and sexual harassment,
• Articles 225-1 to 225-4 of the Criminal Code on the fight against discrimination in hiring,
• the list of available positions in the company concerning the priority of re-employment.

This information is usually displayed in the kitchen.

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