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Restaurant staff 'should keep their tips' | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Waiting staff should receive their tips in full and it should be clearer to customers that gratuities are optional, the business secretary has said. | |
Sajid Javid said tips had to "go to the people you intended it to go to" and announced proposals to stop or limit employer deductions from them. | |
It follows claims that some restaurant chains were regularly holding back some or all of the tips meant for staff. | It follows claims that some restaurant chains were regularly holding back some or all of the tips meant for staff. |
Unite said it was a "victory" for staff but, laws should be introduced. | |
Currently, there is no legal requirement for firms to hand over gratuities to their waiting staff. | |
There are almost 150,000 hotels, pubs and restaurants in Britain, employing about two million people. | |
What happens to waiter's tips? | |
The war over tipping | |
Inquiry into tipping abuse | |
"Too many people were finding that when they were leaving tips for hardworking people they weren't actually going to those people. And that's unacceptable," Mr Javid told the BBC. | |
"It's got to go to the people you intended it to go to, it's got to be a transparent process, it's also got to be voluntary for good service." | |
The proposals include: | The proposals include: |
Mr Javid said the plan would "make tipping fairer" for millions of service industry workers. | |
"We will look closely at all the options, including legislation if necessary," he said. | |
There will be a two-month consultation on the plans, which the government said would stamp out unfairness. | |
Announcing its consultation, the government said that 80% of consumers want to see tips go directly to workers or distributed among staff. | Announcing its consultation, the government said that 80% of consumers want to see tips go directly to workers or distributed among staff. |
'Subsidise low pay' | |
Unite had been campaigning for action after complaining that some firms were counting tips as part of a worker's pay. | |
Dave Turnbull, Unite's officer for the hospitality sector said it would need the support of the law to make any change effective. | Dave Turnbull, Unite's officer for the hospitality sector said it would need the support of the law to make any change effective. |
"Restaurant staff and hotel staff and back-of-house staff should be paid a living wage," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. | |
"They're highly skilled people, they've got a lot of customer service skills and it shouldn't be a situation where restaurant owners and large corporate companies take it for granted that customers are going to subsidise low pay". | |
But he said the proposals were a "massive victory for all those waiting staff who have worked tirelessly to expose sharp practices in the hospitality industry". | But he said the proposals were a "massive victory for all those waiting staff who have worked tirelessly to expose sharp practices in the hospitality industry". |
"All they want is what any worker wants - to take home what they have earned, no corners cut," he said. | "All they want is what any worker wants - to take home what they have earned, no corners cut," he said. |
The British Hospitality Association (BHA), which represents more than 40,000 establishments in the UK, said it will meet with hospitality business leaders across the UK and conduct its own impact assessment. | |
BHA chief executive Ufi Ibrahim said: "Customers should be able to reward good service and know where their money ends up and how much of it goes to the staff." | BHA chief executive Ufi Ibrahim said: "Customers should be able to reward good service and know where their money ends up and how much of it goes to the staff." |
Food critic Jay Rayner told the BBC that the system of service charges and tipping "has outlived its usefulness". | |
"It's a bizarre system that we have and it only applies in restaurants, pretty much. | |
"I wrote a piece recently in which I basically have called for the end of all service charges and tipping but - and this is absolutely key - with a rise in the basic wage that all waiters get because obviously tips are regarded as important to top up people's salaries." | |
The consultation period runs until 27 June 2016. | The consultation period runs until 27 June 2016. |