Stop pinching our tips

Pizza Express waiting staff are to stage a series of demonstrations outside selected restaurants in protest at the multi-million-pound business stealing their tips.

Staff have estimated that the chain could be making as much as ÂŁ1m from an 8 per cent administration fee they take from tips paid to waiting staff by card.

Other high street chains have made the decision to stop charging an administration fee if customers tip their waiting staff by card.

Mary, a Pizza Express worker has written an open letter to her boss, Richard Hodgson CEO asking why the chain is still charging the administration fee when other chains have chosen to drop it.

“Pizza Hut and TGIF don’t take a fee and the Restaurant Group, owners of Chiquito and Garfunkel’s dropped its admin fee a few years ago,” says Mary.

“If they can do it, why can’t a hugely successful chain like Pizza Express,” added Mary, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.

Waiting staff are paid the national minimum wage (NMW) of just ÂŁ6.50 an hour and reply heavily on their tips to top up their wages.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how unfair my colleagues and I think this is,” says Mary, who has worked at Pizza Express for 15 years and is still only on the NMW.

A lot of money

“Try living in London on £6.50 an hour, we need our tips just to get by. The 8 per cent admin fee Pizza Express takes from our tips is a lot of money to a waiter,” she added.

Customers dining in one of Pizza Express’s 430 chains are usually quite shocked to discover that their waiter is not getting 100 per cent of their tip and also find it unfair.

“Customers often ask whether their tip goes to the staff, when I tell them about the 8 per cent administration fee, they’re genuinely shocked, and will tip in cash instead,” said Mary.

“More shocking still is that we’re discouraged from even telling customers about the admin fee.”

Thousands have signed a petition calling for the 8 per cent admin fee to be scrapped. Show you support and sign and share the petition on social media.

Stay tuned to UNITElive for details of demonstrations and updates on the campaign and click here for more information on the campaign.