Can a restaurant employer deduct money from waitresses tables sales for tips?

HappyMJ

dekaspace wrote: »

I know some local eat in places won't let you add tips to card payments wonder if that is for tax purposes though.

It's probably the fees charged by the card provider. The fees then need to be deducted from the tips left by customers and the remainder processed through payroll with tax and national insurance deducted. There'll also be an administration charge made by the employer. The employees will not get 100% of the amount left.

Maybe the eat in places do not wish to manage processing tips through payroll as it's an extra step they need to take which might take them maybe an hour per week and they just aren't interested in doing that. How do they share them out fairly? They could increase the employees wages by a £ amount or by a % amount?

tightasagnats

There were a whole bunch of restaurants doing this and quite a lot of coverage in the Guardian about it, which led to many of them backing down and changing their policies around deductions.

Worth writing to complain directly to companies or putting on pressure via twitter and FB for fair tipping policies.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/18/the-tipping-minefield

This kind of work is very demanding, should be properly paid. It's not always easy in some areas to swap jobs, and we need greater corporate responsibility rather than expecting the workers to just walk out.

rach_pach

Goodness, you have all really wrestled with this one! Thank you so much for taking the time to think about it and make suggestions. I deliberately did not mention the restaurant chain in question as I did not feel that was appropriate, rather I was looking for other wise minds to reflect on the dilemma. My niece assures me that in her establishment, the % is taken from sales NOT her tips. I have worked in restaurants myself (years ago). It is one thing to share some of your tips with the non front of house staff, it's quite another to have money deducted from your sales in this manner. My niece has done some research and found some info on the media around concerns over this practice. Needless to say She won't be there much longer... Thanks again

dekaspace

HappyMJ wrote: »

It's probably the fees charged by the card provider. The fees then need to be deducted from the tips left by customers and the remainder processed through payroll with tax and national insurance deducted. There'll also be an administration charge made by the employer. The employees will not get 100% of the amount left.

Maybe the eat in places do not wish to manage processing tips through payroll as it's an extra step they need to take which might take them maybe an hour per week and they just aren't interested in doing that. How do they share them out fairly? They could increase the employees wages by a £ amount or by a % amount?

These are family run ones though not chain ones though may have one or two non family member staff and rarely have a 2nd location.