To be surprised It's take this long for this to hit the press.

[Bloodyknakard]

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/23/restaurant-tipping-policy-forces-waiters-to-pay-to-work

I'm amazed they kept it quiet for so long.
Given there was several threads on here when the other tips/service charge stories hit the press I'm surprised to see nothing of this on here.
I used to work as a manager for these people and I can assure you that staff incentives were certainly not where the money went 7/8 years ago....

I think this has just given me yet another good reason not to bother tipping. The whole practice is farcical.

Just to say it would be totally counter productive to stop tipping atall as I know of many single mothers who support their kids/adults putting them selves back through uni with their tips so please don't stop doing it altogether.

A friend of mine owns a restaurant, and her staff have decided (totally on their own, she has always said she wants nothing to do with the tips) that the waitstaff keep their tips, but that they then 'tip' the behind the scenes staff. So if a chef acts like a total dick and makes it harder for the staff to do their job, then they would get less than a chef who is easy to deal with. Apparently all staff are very happy with the system.

Right, that's Las Iguanas and Turtle Bay off my list till they start operating a fair policy.

Osolea, if you stop tipping, all that that would mean is that staff at establishments like this are even more out of pocket.

And that, if you go back to a restaurant where you have refused to tip in the past, you will suddenly find that service is absolutely appalling.

lunch sorry for singling you out - but you do realise that is why rules like this are brought in - then you can't pocket tips?

If a customer gives a tip to a server that tip is the property of the person it is given to, it is their responsibility to declare anything that needs declaring to any agencies like DWP HMRC. The tip is nothing to do with the employer so a server keeping the tip is ok because it is theirs . Unless of course the person doing the tip (which in essence is a gift) asks if they can distribute it round the other staff or pay the company extra.

unlucky yes I'd tip if food was terrible. I would comment that the food was bad and how the waiter dealt with it would influence how I tipped.

As to how much am I prepared to pay to eat out, enough to be sure that the staff are being treated legally and morally well

Just stop tipping. It seems it is only used to benefit the proprietor and as a means of subbing the wages bill. Disgusting. I will be pointedly asking the question in future and if there is any prevarication in the response, I won't tip.