Are employers allowed to insist that you put your tips in a communal 'tip jar'?

[SophieKaczynsky]

DD (23) works part time as a waitress at a posh restaurant whilst she's studying. She seems to be very good at the job and often gets £50+ in tips per shift, but is made to put it in the tips jar at work. Once a month or so, everyone gets a cut of the tips, including management, on a pro rata basis for hours too, and DD is lucky if she ends up with £10 in tips per month, which seems a bit unfair.

Can her work do this?

Read this
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58669632.amp

I think the individual person serving, making the drinks, taking the food out, clearing the table, being friendly and efficient etc; Yes, should get to keep their tips

When I go out to a restaurant, I am tipping the server. I don't think it's fair that someone else, especially if they're not providing good service, or expects the rest of the team to carry the workload should be entitled to other peoples tips either (personal experience from working in bars/restaurants) Also, it's worth bearing in mind that kitchen staff usually get paid more. Well, where I've worked anyway. Usually £1/£2 per hour more than front of house staff

When I worked in hospitality the tips were shared too but at the end of each shift between all staff.

9-12 Morning
12-5 Afternoon
5-10 Evening

Might be worthwhile to explore if they're doing it monthly then your proportion is based on hours worked across the month. However, her share does sound low.

It's interesting that chefs, a predominantly male job, are paid more than waiting staff, which is often a role held by females. Not surprising, though, sadly.

OP’s posts:

I take your point op but I would challenge the idea they are paid more because they are male. Being a chef is a very different job to being a part time waiter. They work bloody hard & long anti social hours. That said I still don't like the tip jar system

@MissOrganisedMe

When I worked in hospitality the tips were shared too but at the end of each shift between all staff.

9-12 Morning
12-5 Afternoon
5-10 Evening

Might be worthwhile to explore if they're doing it monthly then your proportion is based on hours worked across the month. However, her share does sound low.

Sorry, you said in your initial post that this is what they're doing.

Can she ask how they break it down or is it all on trust ?

It’s happened in all the pubs I’ve worked in, although I used to make as much in tips in a shift as my salary most of the time despite being split between all staff.

I did work in a hotel that kept our tips for ‘staff social events’ but they never seemed to happen.

It's interesting that chefs, a predominantly male job, are paid more than waiting staff, which is often a role held by females. Not surprising, though, sadly.

Do people really need this explaining to them? 🙄

It’s nothing to do with sex/gender at all. Qualified, experienced chefs are paid more than unqualified PT waiting & bar staff in exactly the same way that qualified experienced teachers are paid more than unqualified school admin staff.

No that difficult a concept, surely?

It is very common practice, and, on the surface, is fair.

My dd works in a bar. She does different shifts in different roles but only the people serving at the tables have contact with the punters. However, when she is asked to work in the kitchen or when she is asked to pull the pints etc., she isn't working any less hard, so, in theory it would seem fair to share the tips. However , like your dd, that actual pittance they ever receive in tips in no way reflects what she has received on the nights she is serving tables.

I guess the thing to do would be to ask all the staff one night to keep a tab and to say how much they put in the jar, and then go back to whoever is distributing it and challenge them as to where the rest of it is going...... the maths shouldn't be that hard to roughly divide the amount they know went in by the number of staff working to see what an 'average amount' they ought to get per shift worked.

Unfortunately there are a lot of unscrupulous people about.

I've suggested my dd challenges it, but she is looking at the whole bigger picture - she likes working there, can walk home in seconds (important for safety but also saves cost of a taxi), she gets plenty of shifts she likes the people etc etc, so she isn't too bothered to make a fuss. I can offer my thoughts, but at the end of the day it is up to them.

"It's interesting that chefs, a predominantly male job, are paid more than waiting staff, which is often a role held by females. Not surprising, though, sadly."

Why wouldn't they get paid more? Chefs (not all of course, but many) often go to college to learn their trade. And a skilled trade it is. I used to be a waitress while I was at uni, I know how hard it was, but different skillsets get paid differently.

Yes it is the most fair way plus tax has to be paid on tips so the owners will have to take all the money first then redistribute it with wages

Just to add to pp's, kitchen staff aren't paid necessarily more because they have "expertise" A lot of it as well is to do with high risk in the kitchen verses front of house

@applechips

I disagree with this - the chefs and management will be permanent full time staff on a steady wage, waiting and bar staff are often temporary part time staff, and it’s also those that earn the tips - I don’t tip for a good meal because that’s what I am paying the bill for, I do tip for good service because that can change the whole experience.

Exactly you are tipping for service which is the waiter/waitress not the chef the kitchen hand the cleaner and the restaurant owner. Why the hell should the owner get tips. I think that is grabby and mean to their staff. If it's law fair enough it had to be shared but only between those who actually get the tip.

I don't think it's fair to share. The tips are for good service. End of. It takes different skills to being behind the scenes. Of course a lot of work goes on behind the scenes, that's why you pay for your meal. As for management getting a share of the tips, that's just obscene.

A lot of hairdressers are (oddly and not lIMO illegally) self-employed.

I and she have no problem with the sharing in general

I've worked loads of these kind of jobs. I suspect I got tipped loads because I was pretty and friendly and young. I didn't work any harder than the other waiters and waitresses.

They shared their tips, I shared mine, we all worked together as a team and enjoyed a laugh and a drink at the end of the night with the chefs, and the owners. It never occurred to me to add up 'my' tips as I went along because I never considered them to be solely mine. Whatever was left on the table or given directly to me just got bunged in the tip jar.

I certainly wouldn't have whinged about it to my mum or expect her to have any interest at all in the tipping etiquette at my place of work.

Exactly you are tipping for service which is the waiter/waitress not the chef the kitchen hand the cleaner and the restaurant owner. Why the hell should the owner get tips. I think that is grabby and mean to their staff. If it's law fair enough it had to be shared but only between those who actually get the tip

But if the chef didn't work hard there would be no food for the server to bring to the customers. Part of the tip is for the nice food, if the food takes ages or is badly cooked, the customer might not tip, so the person who cooks it deserves parts of the tip too.

Chefs might get paid more but their hourly rate is probably less because they work stupidly long hours and will do hours of prep before service.

When I starting working at a bar, your tips are your own.
You earned them through good customer service(to insure prompt service) is what a tip is.
Next bar it was shared tips and after 1 shit the manager agreed that individual tips were better as some pulled their weight more than others and didn’t get the reward.
It’s unfair if you get tipped £10,£5, £1x 20 and then only end up with £5 for a night.

Wish my colleague would grasp the concept of sharing gifts. Due to her speaking a second language she tends to get assigned lots of clients from a particular culture which seems to like giving gifts. We (small team) all put a huge amount of effort into our work but she gets given all the gifts and keeps them all for herself ! Biscuits, chocolates, wine, flowers, cupcakes.

When I starting working at a bar, your tips are your own.
You earned them through good customer service(to insure prompt service) is what a tip is.

By your logic, tips should be shared then, as the person delivering the food / drink to the table can't provide prompt service if the person pouring / mixing the drinks or the person preparing the food doesn't deliver speedily....... I mean, I don't agree with pooling the tips, but your argument is flawed.

Also, there are many people who think you "should" tip 10% of the bill, and don't just tip because the service was particularly good, they leave a tip anyway, so that isn't what a tip is in many people's eyes.

I am a female chef and we were denied a share of tips. It only went to waiting staff

It caused a us/ them atmosphere

Next time you don't like your meal see if you still want to leave a good tip for service

Slightly better hourly rate but not much for where I worked.
Pot washes on national minimum

A good manager wants a team working environment.

When I worked in my first pub they pulled the tips, you were lucky if we got £10 each at the end of a month. My last shift there and I asked if I could keep my own bar tips and I walked away with £40!

So the management were taking the piss.

My dd works in hospitality to see her through uni. Her owners give each person £1 tip per hour they work there and then they keep the rest. There needs to be a law protecting workers tips.

If I have good service while out for dinner, I always ask if they keep their own tips,if they do I tip, if they don’t then I don’t. My tip is for the person serving me,kitchen staff in general get paid more than waiting staff.