The UK Just Changed Its Tipping Laws, But...

weird laws with weird workarounds lol
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[@g0801215]

They say it's optional but you have to go through the social awkwardness of asking it to be taken off.

[@ibx2cat]

Yeah, true optional would be asking if you wanted to add it, not asking if you want to remove it

[@craig7833]

That's very ture but unfortunately having worked in the industry with places that do pay out service charges it did make a bit of difference to my pay check

[@WizardWizard-l7w]

@craig7833 true but that isn't the customers responsibility

[@thomaspower9351]

I always ask them to remove it and tell them I'd rather leave a cash tip, which I do, but when you leave a cash tip it is acceptable to leave a smaller amount since it's all going to the staff

[@MrThijmenmees]

I've even been to restaurants where they would outright tell me that I can't get the service charge removed

[@hypotheticlz]

Service charges should be illegal.

[@stephen_ne8406]

100%, and people who defend tipping should be deported to Rwanda. It's a dystopian system that only benefits businesses and promotes paying their staff less

[@rankcascade9627]

Whyy

[@siondafydd]

@@rankcascade9627if you want to pay your employees, then pay them. The only reason it exists is to make people think the food is cheaper.

[@bulletholeteddy9223]

I think the real problem is delivery apps because usually if you tip they'll deliver quicker, you should only be allowed to tip after it's been delivered

[@dairreagh6468]

Complaining about money going directly from customer to worker should be illegal

[@Starguy256]

California just passed a law banning arbitrary fees added onto bills for most transactions, but restaurants were able to lobby for a last minute exemption. You can go to the dirtiest restaurant that doesn't look like it's been cleaned since 2019 and they'll charge you a 5% "COVID cleaning charge", it's completely out of hand here.

[@paxundpeace9970]

Send them the health Inspector.

[@cc3]

As a brit I was in shock when they charged me an 18% service charge at the cheesecake factory for literally putting a slice in a box and reaching over the counter to give it to me. Apparently its optional but I would've felt like a dick if I contested it.

[@impyrobot]

@@cc3 sometimes being a dick is the right thing to do

[@NickDaGamer1998]

@@cc3 Respectfully, that's a bad attitude. You tip a worker if they do a good job, not for DOING their job. The employer pays the employee's wages, you don't.

[@bobjames1521]

Once when I did this in a restaurant the waitress said she couldn't cos the "system doesn't let her"... Should've just walked out.

[@gonnaga9302]

7:30 Removing hidden charges (service charge, taxes, bullshit charge, toilet charge, fork charge, knife charge, potato charge) and bake it into the price DOES HELP. The cutomer will know what he or she will pay. The customer will not feel ripped off.

[@eventsmydearboy9208]

Typical responses... They will do anything to appear like they care for their employees when alot of the time the opposite is true. It's a farce

[@aceman0000099]

It's the capitalist form of a tax

[@yaziyo]

"We're no longer allowed to steal our employees' tips. To make things fairer for our customers, we're no longer collecting automatic tips." Shocking that it was ever legal to take an automatic service charge that was just pocketed by management.

[@nixiemartian4658]

I just wish we could get rid of the idiotic concept of tipping. I feel like it commodifies small talk and minor interaction. Like not only should you not get an additional percentage of money for doing your regular job, no matter how you do it. But now I feel like they're just being nice or fake to get a bigger tip. It's just these added fees onto everything. I feel like I can't buy anything and know the actual cost upfront (in America) and it's not helping with the state of the economy and inflation.

[@THE_bchat]

I've never left a tip based on how nice someone was, but on how well they did their job. If someone is all smiles when I sit down, but misses items I ordered and, after giving everyone their food, never checks on the table again to see if we might need something more with our order, they get the smallest tip I can leave.

[@Big-Chungus21]

Tipping is not a regular thing in the UK, back when I worked in a restaurant, few people tipped. Tips here are a choice you make if you feel like you have had an exceptionally good experience. I personally tip a couple quid whenever I order something off of Deliveroo as I know its not very profitable. Technically tips didn’t *have* to go to employees, but in all the places I worked it instantly went in a jar that was shared out between employees at the end of the day / shift.

[@sgtommyc]

Why do you have to tip waiters and taxi drivers, but never the plumber or the sewage worker?

[@Nabium]

Tipping as a concept has its place, it's just become obscene in its current form. Tipping was something people with money did to show off how much money they had, or to reward particular service which they were impressed with. It's not supposed to be given by people whose wages are about the same as the wages of the waitors, or for people with less than that. So students, unemployed, people on benefits and people with medium to low paying jobs shouldn't really tip in my opinion. Tipping shouldn't be assumed because then it becomes a reversed Robin Hood - and people who are worse off than the waitor ends up just giving the waitor money. For people with low income it's a treat in itself just being able to go out once in a while, if tipping is assumed or socially required on top of that it becomes impossible for them to even go out in the first place.

[@isabellefaguy7351]

@@sgtommyc Or the person answering your customer service call and solving your complicated problem? To me it always have felt like tipping (and I'm from Canada where it is very much a thing we do) is more about customers ego boosting... "look how much I'm a nice/rich person, I tip very big amounts"

[@theinacircleoftheancientpu492]

Tipping should be voluntary and spontaneous. A choice by the customer to give someone a good day. A service charge at a restaurant is nonsense. What, you expect me to come to the kitchen and cook it for myself?

[@demonstructie]

If they charge for service, I expect the food and drink to be at supermarket prices 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@veryboringname.]

Then they'd have to add a rental charge, insurance charge, chef's charge....

[@billo770]

do chefs not exist now?

[@demonstructie]

Supermarkets have rent and supermarkets have insurance, so that's included in supermarket prices. What a chef does is prepare the food, which is a service, so that's covered by the service fee. I don't know how to spell it out more so it's easy for you to understand, but if it's still not clear let me know and I'll try my best to explain it to you in even simpler terms.

[@billo770]

@@demonstructie the overheads that apply to an item at the supermarket is not comparable to meal at a restaurant. supermarkets sell thousands of items a day and see hundreds of customers, the overheads are spread out thin, restaurants have much more limited amounts of customers so the amount they need to spend on overhead per customer is much more considerable. this is why working in customer service should be mandatory istg

[@samuelboczek1834]

@@billo770 Ok, not supermerket prices then, a local store prices.

[@marcusoppong1024]

Things like service fees or charges are something you're VERY unlikely to see in my country so when I went to places like the UK or Japan, I was surprised about all the charges you can rack up, may it be service fee, random surcharges or seating fees. Personally, I think ALL additional charges and fees should be prohibited.

[@cocobob6025]

try usa its more tame with the tipping

[@JD-lp5rw]

Unless it states it on the menu, you don't have to pay it. Personally I won't eat anywhere that does this. we need to start pushing back at Americanisms creeping into society.

[@baileyharrison1030]

And as a Brit I was shocked with how many additional ‘fees’, ‘charges’, and ‘gratutities’ they have in the USA! And that’s not even to mention the fact it’s socially expected to tip at least 15% at any restaurant over there even if the service was average.

[@Draggonny]

Most restaurants in the northeast of England only add a service charge if there's a group of over a certain number of people. So a family of 4 wouldn't get a service charge but a party of 10 would. It's always explained at the time of reservation so if you don't agree with it or think it's too high you could just not complete the booking and book somewhere else. Wait staff are paid a normal wage here and don't have to live off of tips so all costs are usually rolled into the price of the food and drinks.

[@TayWoode]

@@Draggonnywhich restaurants in the north east? Big places like Newcastle? They don’t in the restaurant I work in or other ones nearby.

[@jamessmithson-br7rm]

I’ve always asked “does the service charge go to you”. If not, I take off the service charge and give the server cash.

[@ibx2cat]

Some places don't allow their employees to tell the truth to this question lol, fun fact

[@1972hermanoben]

Doesn’t always help, sadly. A restaurant I ended up leaving as head waiter insisted on cash tips being collected together and disbursed later on by the owner in proportion to the number of shifts worked - it was one of those places that describes itself as a family - which ended up meaning that our head chef, who spent more hours at work than anyone else but who is also in business with the owner, took the lion’s share of any tips every single time. He rarely, if ever, left the kitchen when he was at work; he rarely, if ever, gave any service to customers himself. We were expected to lie in response to your question and keep the system a secret from our customers. Also, the owner took a ‘share’ of cash tips himself - as well as keeping ALL tips made by card - explaining it was fair because he was part of the team and therefore entitled to a proportionate share depending on the shifts he’d ‘worked’. He eventually promised to put card tips towards staff parties - there were two: one in the summer, a BBQ at his own house, and the Christmas meal out elsewhere. He could not accept that using staff tips to pay for such events was in any way odd. Major factors contributing to why I left in the end. Our youngest team members were still at school. My old boss basically stole tips from kids he was paying apprentice wages to.

[@hziebicki]

​@@ibx2catThat's... legal?! 😢

[@JohnCooper-gm6mn]

​@@hziebickiNo, it's not, but those kinds of places rely on their staff not knowing their legal rights. It's like the whole thing about employers telling their employees that they're not allowed to discuss their wages. Legally they can't stop you from doing that, but people often just accept what their told by their boss as gospel.

[@moonbug7252]

Absolutely based. I appreciate it.

[@Ozma2]

When I worked at UK McDonald's from 2017 to 2019, I was explicitly told that I couldn't keep tips and that they had to go in the till. I was never tipped anyway (because who tf tips at Maccies?), but if ever I was, I was 100% keeping it.

[@jacobp.2024]

Yeah, I'd sooner get fired than put gratuity in the till. If I'm worth less than the odd five dollar tip I take, then feel free to fire me. Free unemployment.

[@ausername9190]

I work there it is to go in the charity box if we get tipped

[@jacobp.2024]

@@ausername9190 sounds like a tax write off for the franchisee at your expense.

[@RaunienTheFirst]

Uh, that was *super* illegal. Outside of the "discretionary service charge" loophole which has now been (mostly) closed, your employer isn't allowed to touch tips at all. That money is yours. If a customer hands it to you directly, that goes in your pocket tax-free. If it goes into a communal pot, that's a little more complicated and there may be tax due depending on how it's distributed, but again, that's your (the employees as a whole) money.

[@tamdunk]

Not sure what country you're in but tips are not tax free in the uk.

[@howdlej123]

I always ask for the service charge removed. I can understand in America but over here it is not acceptable. Its American Business owners trying to enforce tipping culture here when its not wanted or appreciated. If I think an employee has done an exceptional job servicing me then I will give them cash in hand, directly to the person I want to tip, and nothing more but its rare these days to get exceptional service, with staff continuously being overworked and managers overbooking so I may sometimes gave them a sympathy tip if I can see them doing their hardest, even if the overall service quality is poor. However I truly stand by the fact that you should pay your employees a fair wage, and if you need to increase the cost of items to do that then so be it, at least people can see how much things will cost before they order and can change their mind rather then a restaurant putting "service charge" at the end of a bill even when service was terrible. It's also extremely misleading how many restaurants put "service charge" rather than "discretionary service charge". I've literally been followed out of a restaurant cause an employee thought it was mandatory until I came back and explained to him and his manager that just because you choose to remove the word 'discretionary' doesn't mean it isn't. You cannot surprise people with fees that are not well and truly clear at the time of ordering.

[@carronalee]

Well said!👏👏

[@user-oy4vu3ck3u]

UK here; I used to reject tips from customers and explain to them that I wouldn't see it. One time a mother and her kids tipped me, so I high fived the kids instead as a tip. One man argued with my manager for around 20 minutes that he wanted to tip me £10 but couldn't. And if I was found to have money on me I could be fired on the spot. It wasnt just clap back for not getting tips, it genuinely felt dirty to not be honest about it. If I tip, I want it to go to the people I'm tipping.

[@tosspot1305]

Name and shame the restaurant please

[@user-oy4vu3ck3u]

@@tosspot1305 They closed down, but KungFu Buffet. I'll dox myself if I say which town though. Some genuinely good people worked there too, and I was young, so I never looked in to how to call it in.

[@fabianmckenna8197]

​@@tosspot1305 It's not about naming and shaming but actual restaurant policy that you carry no cash as you work with cash. They should however have used a tronc system where tips are collected by the tronc master/head waiter and split with restaurant staff. Shops can have similar policy to deter and of course prove any dark deeds.

[@fabianmckenna8197]

Worked as a courier with crazy prices for immediate delivery and refused tips on the principal that they had already paid through the nose for this service.

[@Yezpahr]

If companies did this (avoided paying tips to employers by renaming tipping) in the Netherlands they would go out of business. Not cuz of any law or anything, but we actually care about ethics and don't pay tips on the bill but give it cash in the recipients hand while the bill goes with bank card. The moment "tips" become official it will be schemed with. The British Experiment has shown.

[@usefulrandom1855]

Most of the time people will give cash tips and pay with card. If people have cash that is!

[@bobprice9541]

Worse is the American system. Wait staff are exempt from being paid even minimum wage. The restaurant has conned its customers to pay the wage of the wait staff on top of the bill that covers all costs incurred by the restaurant. The restaurant must be making big coin.

[@baileyharrison1030]

@@bobprice9541The worst part is, if you opened a restaurant where you adjusted the menu prices accordingly such that you pay your staff fairly with no expectation of tipping, people will see your restaurant as expensive and you’ll be forced the adopt the same model as everywhere else.

[@Gambit771]

@@Yezpahr what British experiment?

[@Yezpahr]

@@Gambit771 They're experimenting as a standalone entity, just like the Americans call their existence "The American Experiment".

[@user-tj9fx3td1m]

ill be honest I've lived in the UK (England) my whole life and this is the first time I'm hearing of a service charge. Although, to be fair, I do live in a rural area up north

[@DiamondCake2]

Do you have restaurants up north? I though you all ate out of a trough.

[@Gambit771]

@@user-tj9fx3td1m I've rarely seen a service charge, which I've never paid, and only in some fancy places and that's up north. It is incredibly rare. I imagine more common in London with lots of foreigners visiting.

[@Lostachilles]

​@@Gambit771I think that's the thing. It's definitely a "down south" cultural issue (down south being essentially London with the odd outlier). I also live in the north of England and the only service charges I've ever seen are from the likes of just-eat and other similar ordering/delivery services. I've never seen a service charge added to an actual bill, and I spent about 5 years going to a different restaurant at least once per week to try out all the different kinds of cuisine that my city had to offer. All profits/charges that an organisation wishes to make should be included in the prices of their items so that you know exactly what you're paying in a transparent and upfront manner. Anything else added on after those advertised prices should be "opt-in" or illegal.

[@radio_marco]

But youtube is free* and 12.5% of 0 is still 0. Or should I tip 12.5% of my personal data, since that's what yt takes.

[@ibx2cat]

watch an ad for 12.5% longer, or watch 12.5% more of my videos

[@radio_marco]

@@ibx2cat but I have youtube premium...

[@jetsflyingoffatrain4338]

​@@radio_marcoyoutubers get money from premium users watching their videos

[@RobDEV]

@@radio_marco because you have youtube premium he actually earns more from you watching, than if you were to watch ads

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

​@@radio_marcoKZbin Premium is not free...

[@joshtaylor3397]

A restaurant I went to recently has a 'carbon fee' as well as service charge. They can kick rocks if they think I'll ever pay that.

[@joejanota707]

Carbon free? What does that even mean? It makes no logistical or manufacturing sense.

[@marioex497]

Businesses will do just about anything but help their employees

[@duncanhw]

Restaurants aren't massive corporations churning out massive consistent profits (excl. some franchises). Many restaurants run close to break even or even a loss. If you take money away from them, they'll have to get it somewhere else (e.g. lower wages, higher prices) to stay afloat.

[@ImpureForce]

When I worked at a restaurant some 5-6 years ago service charge was evenly split across all the service staff. Tip was directly to the waiter. Maybe that restaurant was unusually fair and decent but I thought it's the same everywhere else. Service charge almost doubled my income. (I was paid a minimum wage)

[@BritishChef436]

Bro. Take a nap. You will break that chair if you keep rocking on it

[@hziebicki]

I legit thought I accidentally left the speed on 1.5x when I started watching.. Bro had one too many monsters before he hit record lol

[@changchia-huan2177]

The whole business of tipping and service charge just makes paying for stuff unneccesarily complicated.

[@banditkeithkingofduelmonsters]

Why are restaurants such a grift? I feel dirty even going in one these days.

[@JD-lp5rw]

And most restaurants are terrible I find. Pay £25 for an average dish I could make at home in 30 mins.

[@WizardWizard-l7w]

​@@JD-lp5rwgo to a better restaurant then

[@jacobp.2024]

@@WizardWizard-l7w Fact. Most restaurants are a grift because most restaurants suck. Find a low-mid price family or local run business. Don't do chain restaurants.

[@1972hermanoben]

A grift?!? You’ve obviously never worked in or run one.

[@jacobp.2024]

@@1972hermanoben Yes, a *grift* for someone who wants good food. Most won't cook from fresh, and will give every reason under the sun as to why. The real reason is that some restaurants do logistics right, and some don't. Some have good chefs, leadership, and deals with local producers, and some don't. You can have razor thin margins and still cut the wrong corners. Chain restaurants are one of the biggest grifts of all. You effectively pay a premium for what is often pre-packaged, pre-prepared, breaded in a factory and fried on site. They work you guys to the bone in those chain restaurants, like boot camps. Yet the food I make out of my kitchen is 3x better than anything I can eat local except for maybe 1-2 family run businesses in my area, so it's still a grift for me. Do I want fiber-optic rock-hard chicken from Applebee's or a canned corn quesadilla from Chili's? No matter how hard they work the line in those chain restaurants, they're working with bad product.. The end-consumer is getting grifted through and through, and you know what? You were too. You did not get paid what you should've. All that work you did probably getting 15-20/hr if I'm being generous? Breaking your body down? You get outpaced by any other trade working half as hard as you outdoors. Really. Take that work ethic into HVAC work. At least you'll be able to afford the medical expenses when your joints wear down. You do get consistency, but consistently mediocre isn't really a boast..

[@Tomcat-rj5tp]

Even in the US, especially in Illinois I've noticed, if you have a party of people larger than 5 or 6, a 15-20% gratuity is automatically added to your bill.

[@pidgeotroll]

Legally, there has to be a notice somewhere at the restaurant about that policy. It's usually on a sign at the front or on the menu. And its not just an IL thing.

[@Tomcat-rj5tp]

@@pidgeotroll Yes, in fairness to the restaurants, it's always at the bottom of the menu or on the counter near the entrance.

[@wormsblink2887]

This doesn’t make sense, it should be the other way around. It takes less than 5-6x the effort to serve a party of 5-6 people compared to 1. Forcing a tip is just exploiting social pressure and holding the group’s relationship hostage for profit.

[@AfricanZebra3000]

same is true across Utah. It usually depends on the restaurant, but most of them have this 20% gratuity charge for parties of 6 or larger

[@baileyharrison1030]

Noticed this a lot in Florida restaurants. 20% gratuity on orders over $50 was the worst one I saw.

[@actuallyover]

Reject all optional charges and tip them in cash, if you want to. If I can't see the tip going into their pocket with my eyeballs I'm not tipping, simple as

[@talk-supersix-seven6021]

I was a generous tipper at a Japanese restaurant in London and they were fine with it but when I would make sure to hand the tip directly to the waiter or waitress it caused controversy. The ojisan( uncle/owner) was stealing all the tips. It got so bad that after one time I handed the waitress £30 in tips after a big meal it’s like it broke the owners mind that he’s paying the waitress an hourly wage and she’s getting a substantial little bonus. Dude was so mad he was seething and next time I went she looked sad and the staff told me they couldn’t accept tips anymore because the owner won’t allow them.

[@1972hermanoben]

A lot of restaurants won’t tolerate staff taking cash and pocketing it while on shift - they’re worried about ‘shrinkage’ and pilfering from the till as it is.

[@fabianmckenna8197]

On the card machine the "service charge/tip" is an optional Yes/No so I always tick no and tip in cash..... if it's been earned. Ex waiter and I love watching the staff to see how service goes. Wife went to a restaurant where we had a £35 bottle of white wine which the waiter dumped on the table. Asked him for an ice bucket which he left with us but neglected to actually put the bottle into it or even more importantly, pour out a couple of glasses. Went to open it only to discover the wine was warm. Left the restaurant letting the manager know what happened and went to old faithful Wetherspoon's where the wine was £12, chilled and in an ice bucket.... How hard can it be!

[@reverance_pavane]

Speaking as an Australian. employers should pay their workers an actual living wage with.voluntary gratuities being given to staff for actual good service, rather than "voluntary" compulsory regimes which effectively provide potential gratuities for not providing bad service. Very much the wrong incentive, and so easily abused by the management.

[@iainmillington904]

I do not return to a company that gives me a bill for food if the slap a service charge on the bill. I know how much their meals cost to produce. They get the ingredients and utilities far cheaper than you can buy at home and there is enough profit to pay the staff. You should be able to offer a service charge or leave a tip. Anything else is just greed.

[@stuw5910]

I work in a shop. I wish I received tips for doing my normal job - the one I applied for. I show people where products are, prepare multiple items for delivery, pack items into customers bags, spend time describing items and how to use them. Produce bespoke items/materials to customer order. I also put out stock, operate a cash till, receive deliveries etc etc. etc. Tips? Just basic wage. I never realised restaurant staff were so much more deserving.

[@CodingAbroad]

Here in Italy we get “cover charges” but it’s capped at 2-3 euros

[@M30W3R]

This is why cashless is an absolute scam... If I wanted to tip my waiter, I'd wait for the change of my check to arrive at the table and hand it over to them.

[@Draggonny]

My husband often pays the bill by card but tips in cash. That way the wait staff can just pocket it and not hand it over to management.

[@dylancode]

Absolutely. Just a quick side note though, do you think some of the tip should go to the chef who actually made the food?

[@M30W3R]

@@dylancode If you want it to, sure. Waiters in general are paid much less than any other member of staff and tend to be on the younger side, tipping isn't meant to replace their salary but it's a common courtesy gesture to get some people out of the starter job. And the "but what about the fast food workers" does not work because you have to directly go up to the counter and get the food yourself. You're not really paying for service if you could replace the job with just pressing buttons on a screen. Not that it should stop you from tipping people you feel serviced you appropriately.

[@dylancode]

@@M30W3R Fair enough - great point!

[@Gambit771]

​@@M30W3RIn the UK waiters are paid the same as everyone else bar those in higher level positions.

[@Allaiya.]

We had a small local restaurant that went all inclusive to have tip prices in the meal menu. Needless to say after a year, they reverted back.

[@eh1702]

I worked in restaurants when young and I KNOW that staff will be bilked out of these tips, law or no law. I usually pay cash anyway. And if I pay electronically I always say no to tipping and leave a cash tip instead. Anywhere that tacks on a service charge will never get any more custom from me.

[@GalaxyFur]

It's crazy to see a growing tipping culture in the UK today. In contrast, tipping at most restaurants and establishments in the United States is optional and not forced. However, restaurants in the UK are generally more expensive than U.S. restaurants since there hasn't been a tipping culture in the UK. In the UK, employees are not dependent on a tip. However, tipping expansion in the UK is making restaurants very expensive now. You are now paying a tip on top of a full-priced menu vs. the U.S., where prices are lower since employees are expected to earn most of their daily wages on a tip rather than receiving a minimum wage from the restaurant itself.

[@MrDannyDetail]

I get that the law has said for a few years now that tips have to go to the staff, but does that mean it can still go in a jar and be divided equally among all the staff afterwards, or does it always have to go to the specific staff member who it was originally given to? In a restaurant with a bar, that one particularly chatty waitress/waiter might pick up more tips than the other waiting staff, despite spending so much time chatting to customers that she/he/they take notably less orders and brings out notably less food than the other waiting staff. Those other waiting staff thus work harder to keep the restaurant actually running but would collect less money once tips are factored in. The member of the waiting staff who happens to be running the bar today may have more opportunities to 'keep the change' no matter what they do, just from the sheer fact of being on the bar. And worst of all the extremely talented chef, whose abilities ensure that the restaurant attracts customers in the first place, is not out the front and thus has no opportunity to collect tips (though admittedly would probably be on a somewhat higher base rate of pay to start with). So I can see what some restaurants may see it as fairer to divide the tip jar out equally among all the staff rather than let each staff member keep what they collect.

[@1972hermanoben]

It’s up to the restaurant. These things get noticed and different managers / owners take their own individual approaches. A server who worked like that at the expense of others would either only be indulged and allowed to do their thing on the proviso that tips get pooled and shared out. Anyone involved in cash handling and till operation who’s suspected of the remotest hint of dodgy behaviour will be out of there in a heartbeat. The ‘extremely talented chef’ has an existence that is utterly diffferent to that of the FOH team, who will spend almost their entire time on their feet; he or she is almost certainly better paid, eats what they fancy on shift, wears what they like, listens to music, watches sports, banters and swears along with their colleagues in the kitchen AND gets tipped out by the FOH team anyway as serving staff are well aware that they rely on the skill, care and hard work of everyone in the kitchen, not just the MVP.

[@MrDannyDetail]

@@1972hermanoben With the person on bar or till I wasn't meaning they'd have the opportunity for dodgy behaviour, although I can understand how it could have been read that way. I just meant that a customer can only tell someone to 'keep the change' if that person is taking their money, so whoever is put on the bar/till for that shift is the only member of staff who has the opportunity to legitimately benefit from customers who generously want the staff to keep the change as a tip.

[@fabianmckenna8197]

Normally tips are gathered and divided amongst waiting staff using the tronc system. We eat out regularly and as ex hotel staff are well aware that tips are shared but always make sure our waiter gets sees it.

[@NearlyInfinity]

6:50 what heros the compaies are, they know that staff need a consistent wage to be able to live well, so they heroically protect the wages from suddenly rising and take on the tough burden of having more money themselves, gobbless them

[@raw6460]

Pay you're staff appropriately Set your prices accordingly We will decide if we want to tip although the chef is often forgotten

[@AngelDelight69]

Yup its never the hard working chefs that are making all these meals to such high standards see a tip. Maybe when they get home they might but thats another kind of conversation.

[@fabianmckenna8197]

​​@@AngelDelight69 Worked in a small thirty seat restaurant with open kitchen and some of the "Gordon Ramsay" screaming was embarrassing. Shut at ten o'clock and woe betide anyone arriving at 9.30........ Had an old regular who would arrive after a few drinks in the bar and "too late" as chefs had their coats on at 9.50 so just got the gueridon and lamp to cook him something at the table. Sometimes as simple as some scrambled eggs or an omelette but perhaps steak Diane or similar. I wasn't going anywhere anyway with a restaurant full but always guaranteed a good tip!

[@wastelander138]

When I started working in the industry. The company I worked for used the card tips to make up our wage. So they were basically deducting the amount we made over the course of two weeks from our wages. Keep in mind we were already getting paid what was considered minimum wage.

[@Lostachilles]

If you're in the UK, that's not only illegal but is also really screwed up and should absolutely be reported and investigated.

[@kelly4187]

One of the most galling charges is when they add a mandatory service charge if you have a party above a certain size. If the same number of people were scattered and sat on single tables it would require MORE service than everyone sat together, so if anything they should be giving a discount for large groups.

[@pidgeotroll]

How has this never come up in the years of online discussion over the tipping system in the US vs. rest of the world? The UK is way, way worse with this service charge scam, at least tipping is technically optional and is legally meant to go to the employees.

[@usefulrandom1855]

Service charge is also optional and many people ask for it to be removed.

[@pidgeotroll]

@@usefulrandom1855 Thanks for letting me know! See how weird it is that everyone knows about US tipping but I don't know anything about something extremely similar from the UK? All I hear about from Brits is stuff like "I get concerned when they take my credit card somewhere else to actually run it when I visit the US, in the UK they do it at your table." Well if they have conditioned you to let them rob you blind right in front of your face, I guess why not?

[@Psyk60]

At least in the UK it's limited to restaurants only, I don't think tipping is common for anything else. And it's not all, or even most restaurants in my experience. Some add a service charge for large groups, but even then it's optional. Maybe it's more common in London though.

[@baileyharrison1030]

US restaurants often have it too, they call it a “gratuity” from my experience

[@BooksMusicMe17]

Because years ago it was nowhere near as common. I used to only see service charges for groups of over 6 or maybe opt-in when you paid by card, and never over 10%. Since the pandemic loads of places are putting them on the bill by default, even when you eat alone or are in a chain restaurant. Glasgow here so it's not just London.

[@jasonkrynicky3170]

The receipt shows that they ordered a glass of wine and a 3-course meal. Snails, cabbage and fish, those show $0.00, it looks like they get a chocolate desert too as part of that 39 dinner. That seems very reasonable for a city restaurant. I would strike out the service charge and pay with my card and leave 10 in cash on the table.

[@JamieZero7]

Any Brit that allows this and pays it loses their right to be called British.

[@Nooticus]

what?! lmao that makes zero sense

[@JamieZero7]

@@Nooticus We aren't Americans. This is what they do in America.

[@Gambit771]

@@JamieZero7 Sadly Brits, especially younger Brits, consume so much murican media that they are more plastic yanks than Brits these days.

[@Lostachilles]

​@@Nooticusit makes perfect sense. We don't have a "tipping culture" like this in the UK. Allowing them to reshape our service industry with all of these BS additional charges that aren't upfront or transparent is not acceptable and is absolutely not the British way. Why do you think that our store prices all have VAT included on them?

[@TopFix]

As an Australian this is all alien to me.

[@shuweb]

I always get it removed regardless of situation. It’s just a scam because businesses know most people won’t get it removed. It’s stupid negative Americanisation of certain things in UK. otherwise they might as well break down everything. Seat charge, table charge, oxygen charge, light charge, heating charge, music charge, wear and tear charge, interaction and communication charge, ingredients charge, cooking charge, plating charge.

[@tonycasey3183]

If you have to rely on tips, service charges or whatever you decide to call it, to pay your waiters a decent wage, your business model is failing.

[@lindadonald348]

Marco pierre steakhouse added 15% plus 10 % service charge on full price after you buy a 50% off groupon voucher, half price steak but the service charge is added for full price. When my friend refused service charge, 3 waiters came over to ask what was wrong with the service and why no tip, awkward and gauging

[@Lostachilles]

My answer would have been "there was nothing 'wrong' with the service, but there was nothing exceptional about it, either. Only exceptional service deserves tips."

[@Respectable_Username]

I definitely prefer how it's done in Aus, where we instead just have a good minimum wage and prices include all tax and service charges. It's so scummy to add extra charges on to the end, or make paying your worker's wages something "discretionary" on the customer and not on the employer! Not to mention the extra stress when travelling of having absolutely no idea what a normal tipping amount is or how to do it because I'm not used to doing it here!

[@JustAnotherBrotherHD]

Yeah it’s weird but I hear this doesn’t happen as much outside of London. It’s also not every restaurant but it started to become more common after Covid. Hopefully it goes back in the direction of Australia and not America because waiters do at least get the national minimum wage

[@DJKav]

The UK has a legal minimum wage based on a couple of age ranges. So everyone has to be paid a minimum of £11.44 (current) p/h over 21 yrs old. In the NW of England, I haven't encountered any additional/optional service charge included on bills. Neither has the server accepted any cash tip, as many companies could class that as stealing if they fail to declare the tip.

[@Lostachilles]

​@@DJKavwe're also abolishing the age classifications in the minimum wage soon and making it so that every adult has the same minimum wage regardless of their age.

[@233kosta]

The level of disrespect required to just ASSUME I want to pay this "discretionary" service charge... If I see that sort of nonsense on the receipt, it's getting taken off. I will tip if _I_ want to tip, and this sort of presumption is enough to completely evaporate any and all generosity on my part. If it's "discretionary", then why is it already on the receipt? That's not asking, that's DEMANDING!

[@Fishingadventureuk]

I don't tip I paid what I owe dont start pressure into me paying your employee wages

[@Savagetechie]

Service charges should be left to Americans. If you want to tip an employee carry cash and give it to them directly... This keeps the tax man out of it too. If I see 15% added to my bill, I am removing that 15%.

[@prnzssLuna]

I like this new system tbh. prices should be all inclusive, and your business is not sustainable if you rely on donations to pay your staff. This way you just pay what you need to pay, no tipping, no weird charges at the end, etc. I don't tip anyways cuz it's not expected where I'm from, but like this it's even better tbh

[@Starmerispureevil]

I don’t frequent any establishment that requires ordering through a QR code and expects a tip to be added BEFORE service!

[@ed07722]

Worked in a restaurant and even after 2019 we wouldn't get all tips from service charge, ask to take service charge off and then give cash to waiter. Then they definitely get it.

[@Ridz149]

A service charge is almost like an attempt at price discrimination

[@dwpdwp8454]

If you pay cash you decide weather the service and food was worth tipping

[@Wiggle65]

You can ask them to take the service charge off the bill and tip your server yourself!

[@mymemeplex]

It took some amping up my social awkwardness but I had them remove that stupid charge from the bill when we ate in London the other year. I'll decide how much I tip, thank you very much.

[@Mishina375]

That's why I only eat at places without service charges. I have not tipped in 6 years of living in the UK, except when paying in cash, which was maybe 5% of the time.

[@angelmessenger8240]

Good lord man sit still. I'm getting seasick.

[@joooja]

Thats funny as hell seeing companies willing to pay more tax to be able to pay employees less; The new system is how it should have always been, just funny seeing how tips and sevice charges are fine but moment it had to go to employees NO

[@Alphoric]

So are they saying they weren’t paying their staff fairly and were keeping some of the tips but now are increasing wages certainly by much less than the service charge because else they wouldn’t change it and would abide by the laws. A service charge is a percent of the meal cost but increasing prices and removing the service charge means the waiter/waitress won’t get anywhere near as much as they would’ve with all the service charge. It’s extremely scummy like beyond conceivability and most people won’t notice that they’ve actually harmed the staff so much with this

[@existnt]

I dislike the tipping culture that's making its way across the atlantic. Financially it punishes generous people and rewards the selfish, and there is always the stress about how much one should tip in what circumstances. Do you tip a taxi driver? Do you tip a hotel porter? Was that a dirty look?

[@Alphoric]

What about for deliveries because they’ve never been discretionary

[@Hippydays1959]

never paid or will pay a service charge. As for tipping Waiters and waitresses are on the same minimum rate as me and I don’t get tips doing my job. If I go for a meal I expect everything is calculated into the price of the meal.

[@kdenyer1]

Payed service charge other day won’t be going back.😂

[@DarkReaper-or9el]

I was gonna say that voice was familiar from all those minecraft videos from back in the day

[@RobDEV]

Service charges are stupid, but do you know what's not stupid? That's right, the Toycat Longboi 2.0, go get yours soon because it's just available on sale for another 3 days and 9 hours!

[@kristinapaxton9686]

Thank you. I always refuse to pay the top except when service is exceptional. However, if I'm forced to pay extra and the service is mediocre then I just won't eat out.

[@TessaAvonlea]

If I have a service charge on my bill i won't be returning

[@Nikki-yn7yv]

We’re from the UK and we tip the servers Not the restaurant, you do not have to pay the surcharge which has been going to the restaurants which is a con! We also have living wage which is about £10 an hour which is mandatory you can’t pay less like in America!

[@fabianmckenna8197]

In the UK we have waiters and waitresses. Servers are used in America.........

[@m9saville]

Yeah like it will actually all go to employees.

[@intruder313]

I will keep tipping £0 because tipping is bullshit

[@veerk3494]

If restaurants now have to let employees keep their tips, isn't it just plain illegal now to add any extra charges to the price of the food?

[@happychap8457]

if i tip i do it in cash to the employee i want to get the tip. i dont trust service charges or the "tip" option on card machines,

[@ChrisWar666]

I can't remember ever seeing a service charge on a bill... Must be a London thing? 😅 If probably have paid it if the service was good, thinking it'd go to the employee. But a "brand charge"? That can fuck right off

[@Alphoric]

£100 in meals over an hour (low end) with £15 going to the waiter on £30 (High end) an hour meaning they’d get £45 an hour Do you think the restaurant would give them a 50% wage increase if not more if the meals were more expensive or the wages were lower.

[@genericgoon3748]

I tip cash only, anything done automatically if theft. I do not automatically agree to any TOS either

[@1972hermanoben]

I’m afraid that yes you do automatically agree to TOS by the act of placing your order. Your principles have nothing to do with it - in the UK at least, it’s a matter of contract law.

[@CaptainToadUK]

I always used to ask if the service charge went to the staff. if it didn't, I asked for it to be removed (not awkward for me, then) and I would leave a cash tip with the server. If it did go to the staff, I would usually leave it. What I think should not be allowed is the mandatory service charge for parties over a certain size. It's actually easier to serve a table of 10 than five tables of 2 but we're led to believe it's not, so they have to add a charge for that...

[@Firestarter.999]

I always ask the server, if they receive the service tip, if the answer is no i decline with zero embarrassment and give it them in their hand.

[@ardentdrops]

Ban all tips and service charges. Pay your employees and taxes.

[@stephenclark9917]

I'm glad you are not a tax lawyer, I did not understand anything you said after @10:00 .

[@TEAisok]

I worked at macdonalds had a American on the way to the airport try tip me a £50 note because she couldn't be botherd to exchange it i was not allowed to take it lmao 😅

[@danksheev66]

There's no lengths private companies won't go to, to not pay their employees if you let them get away with it.

[@jetsflyingoffatrain4338]

Public companies are no better, but at least private companies aren't funded by professional gambling

[@danksheev66]

@@jetsflyingoffatrain4338 No better in terms of what? Sometimes public companies have better pay, but worker cooperatives are included in the bracket of non-private companies and they definitely have higher pay than private companies.

[@danksheev66]

@@jetsflyingoffatrain4338 Also yes, private companies are funded by professional gambling what do you think the stock market is? Public companies are only bad because politicians are abusing insider trading and the likes which means they are abusing the same private stock trading that can be done to a lesser extent on public company that are more in-house and better regulated, if never perfect or anything under this disaster we call neoliberal capitalism.

[@GrungeGalactica]

I worked in an Indian fine dining restaurant in west field, when I asked about the service charge they said it was company money. Such bs.

[@MissesWitch]

oh wow food is already extremely expensive... soo they find a reason to make it even more..

[@infertilepiggy5667]

As a business owner i find it not inly mad that they added a service charge on or even mentioned a tip is disgusting The tips not going to the people who actually do tge service is abhorent The fact theyre now trying to get around it should show you what they are

[@currentcommentor8745]

Service charge irks me so i don't pay them, even if i would have tipped.

[@saydvoncripps]

I tip anyway because they deal with the public and judging by some people I've seen in restaurants, that sort of deserves reward.

[@vahvahdisco]

Restaurants/eateries that have upped their prices and got rid of the service charge with an explanation why probably aren’t telling the truth and should be avoided ! If I get good service and the food is good, then I will tip - but I wouldn’t pay the service charge as well, and I especially wouldn’t pay it if the service was bad ! Thankfully I don’t live in London so I’m not likely to get scammed out of pocket !

[@willjohnson2722]

This is the "Cobra Effect". It shows that "nice sounding" legislation is meaningless unless it is properly implemented, reviewed and validated.

[@suppositionstudios]

The place I was working was paying minimum wage while demanding next level service from the waiters (above and beyond the quality of the food), then they were turning around and taking the majority of the tips for themselves behind closed doors.

[@RevDiscarnateEntity]

If I want to leave a tip I always say I want to leave a cash tip and ask for the service charge to be taken off. You should not have to fund the chef, managers, kitchen staff and cleaners.

[@Colourmad314]

Just remember next time you get a dirty plate, the floor is stinky in the gents, dirty mirrors in the ladies and toy catch Covid again because the cleaners skipped….

[@charg1nmalaz0r51]

@@Colourmad314 mate floors are always stinky in the gents lol

[@sophs.things7390]

As a server I regularly get questions about where tips go, if I get they completely or how they are split

[@abcxyz3028]

Soon UK'll follow the new trend in US where business charges PIC(?) fee on top of sales tax. Thank goodness I rarely dine out. 😅

[@1972hermanoben]

Bottom line, people, is that if you choose to sit yourself in a restaurant and place an order you have made an invitation to tender under contract law which means you have implicitly accepted the terms and conditions of doing so, including service charges and any extras. Consult your server and don’t order if you are not satisfied with the contractual terms you are about to accept and will be expected to honour by doing so. The MP who introduced the Private Members Bill that eventually led to a change in the law surrounding tipping was Dean Russell, former Tory MP of Watford.

[@patrickmcardle4771]

You only cach me once, I don't return. 😂

[@JQ3B94]

Fine by me , ive never seen a pence of the service charge so this is a welcome change

[@Scousewegian]

I wonder if this covers just eats service charge, does that go to the driver's now too?

[@darran311]

There might have been no obligation for it to goto employees but it always has in every restaurant ive worked in that had it Will add that im not surprised the chains are railing against this change

[@jminsh463]

Its annoying that tipping is becoming normalised. American servers have a lower minimum wage so it makes sense that it is a societal thing to top it up if they do a good job. In the uk, minimum wage is the same if you are office staff, a barista, a gardener or a server. If we arent expected to top up non customer service roles then why do we do it for restaurants? It is crazy.

[@TCJones]

All ways ask for it to be taken off the bill..