Waitress - Tips - this feels unfair

[NoTipsForMe]

I'm a waitress on minimum wage, part-time, in a fine dining restaurant.

The business I work for does tip share in a weird way and I feel it's really unfair. If you work 6 hours or less then you don't get any tips at all. I'm consistently given 5.5 hour shifts (lunchtime) meaning I don't see a penny of the tips I get given by customers.

I'm good at my job, I have great feedback from customers. I get a lot of tips. Every other restaurant I've worked for tips are pooled and then shared out based on the number of hours you work.

It feels really unfair and I can't help feeling a bit bitter about it all and like I don't want to work as hard. that's unreasonable I know but tips in this job can make such a huge difference.

I do have Autism so I can be very black & white in my sense of justice? Am I being completely unreasonable to be annoyed by this?

No, less than a year.

Yesterday I did a 5h 58m shift, literally 2 minutes off 6 hours and was told a hard NO, I would not be going on the tips list.

They are taking the Michael.
Look elsewhere op.

Ridiculously unfair. If they are sharing tips like that, just add the hours then divide the tips. You do 5 hours, I do ten..I get twice the tips you do.

I'm sorry.

I think your being exploited.

Try to find a different job, I dont think they are going to change

You need to leave and work somewhere that appreciates you op.

OP when they gave you the hard NO, all you need to say is you do know that you are breaking the law by discrimination against you. Then walk away having politely made your point.

If they ask how refer them to the prevention of unfair treatment of part time employees applies and their rules constitute automatically unfair treatment. If they say but you’ve not worked 2 years point out that is irrelevant as the 2 year rule doesn’t apply in cases of automatic unfair treatment so you can take them to an ET.

If on another occasion you are getting close to 6 hours make sure you are not free to be told to go home. Engage with a table and keep talking, help a colleague out delivering their dishes, avoid being in managers sight line etc.

Are you on zero hours contract?

I would perhaps say you need a minimum of 6 hours per shift.

Your area may be different, but there isn’t a single restaurant in my city that isn’t desperate to hire servers.

You should start looking for another job

Yes same round here, everywhere is advertising vacancies.
Get out as soon as you can, you'll look back on this job one day and wonder why on earth you tolerated their behaviour, you are being treated appallingly.

YANBU.
I worked in a restaurant many years ago as a pot washer. I was a student so in dire need of money. They would put all tips in a huge jar then share it accordingly as to how many hours you'd work.
Honestly, getting my share at the end of the week would make my day.
Amazing way to do things.

This is absolutely appalling. Sounds like they are exploiting part time workers

Tell the customers you serve that you don't get the tips. I often ask if it's better to tip by card or cash.