LONDON — A tipping policy in two U.K. chain restaurants is causing a stir after it was revealed that servers hand over a portion of their cash to managers at the end of each shift.
Servers at Las Iguanas, with 41 locations in the U.K., and Turtle Bay, which has 19 restaurants, mandates that its staff pay back three per cent of their table sales per shift. Where tips don’t cover the three-per-cent charge, staff will be required to make up the shortfall in the next shift.
These policies have made some servers dig into their own pockets at the end of a shift to cover the shortfall. “The other night I had a lot of tables that didn’t tip me and one that spent close to £150 but gave me a £2 tip,” one server told The Guardian. “The tips didn’t cover three per cent of the sales I’d made, and by the end of the night I had to get £20 out of my pocket and give it to my manager.”
Las Iguanas’ website explains the policy: “Where you pay a discretionary tip when dining, approximately three per cent of the servers sales (4.4 per cent in London) are shared with the restaurant staff, including incentives, investment in enriched training and to pay individuals in our bar and kitchens more than minimum wage to reflect the fact they have contributed to the good service you have received but do not directly receive a tip from you.”
