{"id":8587,"date":"2016-05-03T16:50:30","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T15:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=8587"},"modified":"2016-05-04T12:57:52","modified_gmt":"2016-05-04T11:57:52","slug":"tip-top-result","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=8587","title":{"rendered":"Tip top result"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Business secretary Sajid Javid sided with Unite as the government published yesterday (May 1) a long-awaited report on tipping practices in restaurants and hotels.<\/p>\n

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In what Unite officer for the hospitality sector Dave Turnbull called a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098massive victory\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for waiting staff, Javid has concluded that waiters should receive their tips left by customers in full.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The current system often sees some or all of waiters\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 tips being withheld by their employers under the guise of a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098service charge\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or \u00e2\u20ac\u0098admin fees\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 deducted from credit card tips.<\/p>\n

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After an eight-month investigation that was instigated by pressure from Unite, the government is now proposing that the voluntary code of practice governing tipping practices be put on statutory footing; that customers should be made fully aware of what is done with the tips they leave; and that employers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 deducting of tips should be prevented or limited unless compliance with tax law is required.<\/p>\n

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The business secretary said the government proposals will \u00e2\u20ac\u015bmake tipping fairer, clamping down on unfair practices and securing a better deal for the millions of workers in the service industry. We will look closely at all the options, including legislation if necessary,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

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Now the government has launched a two-month consultation<\/a> ending on June 27 and invites the public to contribute their own ideas.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Fantastic news\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe is fantastic news,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Turnbull. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt has taken us eight months to get this report to conclude but at long last it has and come down on the side of the waiting staff. It shows that even the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers can have a powerful voice when they stand united with their union behind them.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is also a massive and rightful victory for all those waiting staff who have worked tirelessly to expose sharp practices in the hospitality industry,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turnbull added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAll they want is what any worker wants \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to take home what they have earned, no corners cut.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut it will need the support of law to make this happen \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it is patently obvious that too many employers do not respect the spirit or word of the voluntary code,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he went on to say.<\/p>\n

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Introduced in 2009, the voluntary code of practice<\/a> governing tipping practices calls on employers to allow waiters themselves full control of tips and their distribution among restaurant staff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But despite the code of practice being in place for nearly a decade, unscrupulous tipping practices continue unabated. Last year, Unite shined a spotlight on a common practice among high street chains, in which restaurants deduct \u00e2\u20ac\u0098admin fees\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 from tips left on credit cards. Restaurants bosses also often pocket some or all of a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098service charge\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 which many customers believe goes to staff.<\/p>\n

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The publicity and the pressure from both staff and consumers joining together under a coordinated Unite campaign prompted many restaurants to change course – including Pizza Express, Zizzi and Giraffe among others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, restaurants like Jamie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Italian continue to deduct a percentage of sales from credit card tips, while Prezzo and Strada still deduct an administration fee for handling the tips and Bill’s restaurant has been accused of pocketing a large proportion of the service charge automatically added to diners’ bills.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The union is currently campaigning to stop hotel chain Melia from using practices which prevent staff from receiving an equitable and fair share of the tips left for them. Turnbull highlighted that the latest news about the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s proposals are great news for consumers, too, who \u00e2\u20ac\u015bhave been appalled to learn that the tips they left for their waiter or waitress never made it to them.<\/p>\n

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Huge support<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDiners have been a huge support to the workforce \u00e2\u20ac\u201c without their help we may not have ever won pay justice,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe problem has always been that tips paid on a credit card and service charges are deemed the property of the employer,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turnbull argued. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs they own them they can do what they like with them. Until staff are recognised as the lawful owners of their hard earned tips with complete control over how they are shared out, rogue employers will continue to cream off staff tips.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe minister\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s announcement, therefore, should send the message right across the sector that the days of using workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 tips to top up pay or to be swallowed up elsewhere in a business are over.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMany decent employers, like Giraffe and Pizza Express have already said that they will do this so we see no need for others in the industry to delay,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turnbull went on to say. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHotel chains like Melia, who are refusing to play fairly by their waiting staff, ought to consider today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s announcement a huge wake-up call.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe say to the industry, do not use this consultation period to tread water on this or throw rocks in the road. Just get on and do the decent thing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c be completely transparent about the allocation of tips to different grades of staff and accept that workers should keep their tips.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whether you work in the hospitality industry or go to restaurants as a consumer, the government seeks your advice in the consultation. Make sure your voice is heard \u00e2\u20ac\u201c find out more here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Business secretary Sajid Javid sided with Unite as the government published yesterday (May 1) a long-awaited report on tipping practices in restaurants and hotels.   In what Unite officer for the hospitality sector Dave Turnbull called a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098massive victory\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for waiting staff, Javid has concluded that waiters should receive their tips left by customers in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[302],"wps_subtitle":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Massive victory\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for waiting staff","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8588,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8587\/revisions\/8588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}