‘Why are we waiting?’

Unite accused the government of dragging its feet over its failure to release its report into tips for restaurant staff, as the consultation closed for submissions a year ago today, Tuesday June 27.

To mark the first year anniversary a 6,500 strong petition was handed into the business secretary, Greg Clark, yesterday. It called on the government to hurry up and release the report. Unite said that tens of thousands of staff in the hospitality industry were legitimately asking, “Why are we waiting?”

Unite has been at the forefront in exposing the rip-off culture that has seen restaurant bosses creaming off money left for tips that customers thought were going to cash-strapped staff.

The two-month long government consultation was launched on May 2, 2016, after an eight month review into the dubious tipping practices of some of the UK’s most popular restaurant chains, first exposed by Unite at Pizza Express in the summer of 2015.

‘Tips are for staff’

Dave Turnbull, Unite regional officer, said, “It is now over a year since the then business secretary, Sajid Javid, launched the government’s consultation with the words, ‘Tips are for staff, not employers.’

“Unite hailed it as a massive and rightful victory for working people at the time, yet 12 months after it closed, workers and diners are no closer to getting the clarity they deserve, and unscrupulous bosses continue to cream off staff tips.”

Turnbull continued, “In recent months, a slew of upmarket restaurants, including Le Garvroche, The Ivy Collection brasseries, bars and grills and Fortnum & Mason, have been exposed for pocketing some or all of the service charge automatically added to diners’ bills for themselves, instead of giving it to staff.

Clark: hurry up

“Greg Clark needs to hurry up; this consultation is the government’s chance to prove that it is on the side of low paid workers and not in the pocket of unscrupulous bosses. It is a chance to eliminate the confusion around tips for staff and customers alike, once and for all,” concluded Turnbull.

The petition calls on the business secretary to give staff 100 per cent of their tips with complete control over how they are shared out, ban bogus tronc schemes and make the code of best practice mandatory.

The 2015 tipping abuse scandal sparked outrage, leading to a huge public backlash, after it emerged that restaurants, including Pizza Express, Bill’s and Strada were pocketing tips and service charge payments intended for staff.

Pics by Mark Thomas