Unite campaign on tips and service charges - beware the
deadly scams
Waiting staff in Unite want to
eradicate some of the scams regularly applied by employers in
restaurants and hotels when it comes to distributing tips left by
customers. Join Unite's campaign to support restaurant and
hotel workers get the tips they have rightfully
earned.
Unite's 'Fair Tips
charter'
Pay all employees at least the minimum wage with
100% of tips added on top as a bonus with no hidden charges.
Reach agreement on how tips are shared with those staff directly
affected.
Make no deductions from tips to
cover breakages, till shortages or customer walk-outs.
Make all rules for the distribution of
tips and service charges available in writing for staff and
customers on request.
How to sign up for restautant,
bars and hotels
The campaign calls on restaurants,
hotels and bars to pass on all tips to the people who earned them -
the staff. This means there must not be any deductions or any
undercutting of the minimum wage.
If you are a restaurant, hotal or bar
that does treat you staff fairly, you can contact Unite to sign up
to the Fair
Tips Charter here. Once you've signed up, we'll make
sure the general public know they can eat and tip at your
establishment with a clear conscience by making sure you are listed
on the Fair Tips Charter website at www.fairtips.org
Customer should look out for:
Taking a
cut
Money left as a tip on a credit card or paid as
service change on a menu is legally the property of the employer to
dispose of as they wish. Bad employers use this as an opportunity
to take a cut of waiter’s tips and only pass on a proportion back
to them. Unite says just because it is allowed doesn’t mean you
have to do it. Waiters should be entitled to 100% of tips left for
them.
Charging a
fee
As above but in this case employers justify their
actions by charging a so called admin fee for processing staff
tips. This can be anything from 8% to 15% of the money received.
Unite say s there is no justification what so ever for
admininstration fees.
Weighting
points
Some employers pool tips and distribute them
on a points system. Unfortunately in many schemes managers award
themselves the highest points and receive the lion’s share of tips
while those doing the hard work lose out. Unite says employers
should pay managers a decent salary so they don’t have to muscle in
on staff tips.
Widening the
pool
A growing number of employers are widening the
number of staff receiving a share in the tips. Many restaurants
have included low paid kitchen staff and bartenders. This is an
attempt to lessen the impact of increases in the minimum wage. So
every time the rate goes up waiters suffer a cut in income as their
employer ‘robs Peter to pay Paul’. This engineers resentment and
friction between waiters and their work colleagues. Unite says all
restaurant workers deserve a decent liv ing wage paid directly by
their employer and should not be manipulated into squabbling about
who gets a share of customer tips.
Paying the
price
On a busy shift all sorts of incidents can
happen. Plates and glasses can get broken. Customers can walk out
without paying the bill. Money in the till might not add at the end
of the night. Many employers expect waiting staff to pay for these
shortages out of their tips. Unite says such deductions are immoral
and should never be allowed to happen.
Don't forget to get your MP to sign the Early Day Motion on the
Fair Tips campaign.
Check to see if your MP has signed EDM 1567
here.
For more information on this campaign please contact: fairtips@unitetheunion.org
