luke10123 said:
So the Escapist may not be the ideal place to air this greivance nut I'm not really too sure what to do at the moment...
I agree, but here's my 10c worth anyway...
luke10123 said:
The deal is that I've transferred from one pub to another in a national (UK) chain and there is apparantly a ploicy in my new one that ALL tips must be put straight into the tills. This was put in place after some money went missing from the tills (before mesteriously re-appearing after this policy was put into place). This isn't told to the customers (feels like fraud), is taking money directly out of the pocket of the bar staff (feels like theft) and may even go as far as tax avoidance (the money goes towards 'covering wastage',etc which basically all goes to increasing bonuses (ie. adding a fifth to managers pay...). This are all cash tips given to us for our service, I've done a little reading it seems like it's a transaction between the customers and individual staff and the management doesn't really have the right to get involved...
Okay, this raises a lot of interesting points:
1. This new policy sounds like it impacts on how much money you take home at the end of the day, decreasing your net earnings. That's quite a fundamental thing for the manager to decide without consulting with staff. In effect the manager has lowered your take-home pay. What is he proposing to give you in return? The blanket statement about tips policy is not, in my opinion, sufficient to cover such a radical shift in your take-home pay.
2. I agree that there is an element of dishonesty in what the manager proposes. The customer leaves a tip for the server, not for the bar, manager or anyone else. Customers are aware that sometimes there are differences in how tips are processed, for example at some restaurants tips are collective, and split evenly between all the staff, and in other places the manager or restaurant takes a "processing fee" to cover the cost when a customer adds the tip to a credit card bill. These are reasonably fair examples of policies, since they modify the procedure, but the core intent (that the tip reaches the waiter) remains unchanged. Restaurants in some countries are very clear that it is not a tip, for example in France you will often see a 10 or 15% fee at the bottom of the bill, sometimes called a "seating fee", "table fee" or "service charge". French restaurants use this fee to cover the cost of paying waitering staff, but are clear that this is NOT a tip. If someone leaves a tip on the table in excess of this amount then the waitering staff accept it as theirs.
If your manager wishes to take customers tips, which are left with the intent of the money going to the waiter, then it should be made clear that the tips are not going to the waitering staff. A large and clear sign would accomplish this purpose, or perhaps just replacing the "tip" portion of the bill with a different label, for example, "manager gouging his customers for an extra 10% without raising prices on the menu".
3. The fact that a significant portion of the tips goes to the manager, without advertising the fact to the customer, borders on fraud. If your manager announced tomorrow that if you want to work at the restaurant then you'll have to turn over 20% of your tips to him... well, there would be outrage, claims of fraud, and claims that he was demanding a bribe from the waitering staff. In effect this is what his new policy amounts to. Staff who refuse to hand over tips will have been fired for failing to bribe the manager. If the money ONLY went to the restaurant chain, and the manager did not profit in any way then he'd be reasonably safe, but if it affects his income via his bonus, then it amounts to a bribe, plain and simple.
4. You're also spot on about the tax implications. If the restaurant is receiving additional income, and not recording or declaring it then this is unquestionably tax fraud, and you could report him to HMR&C (HM Revenue and Customs) and get the establishment audited. A more serious question though, if the income is not being recorded properly, is whether it is indeed going to the restaurant at all, or whether it is going into the manager's back pocket. Since the manager has publically declared that the policy is designed to offset restaurant expenses if the manager is then pocketing the money it would be receiving monies under false pretences, in effect fraud/theft.
You haven't given some critical details, like whether the tips paid to the restaurant are being recorded, however on the face of things as you've presented the issue it seems like your manager has opened himself up for criminal charges. You could contact CIFAS (the UK's non-profit fraud-prevention service) and put the question to them, alternatively there are other non-profit legal aid service where you could get advice, however I would suggest that you first gather some evidence, such as photographs, sworn statements, and a fuller understanding of where the money is going and how it is being used.
Here's a quite interesting article on fraud law in the U.K.
http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/docs/cp155_Legislating_the_Criminal_Code_Fraud_and_Deception_Consultation.pdf
After skimming it, it appears that your manager could be charged under multiple sections of the U.K.'s criminal code.
Just beware that there are also laws against blackmail in the U.K., so you have to tread very carefully in advising your manager that the new policy could be illegal. You cannot, for example, threaten to have him arrested unless he rescinds the policy, because that would be blackmail and would make you an accessory in concealing a criminal act (money has been misappropriated, in your opinion criminally, and you have failed to report it to the police, and instead used it to force the thief to take action in a manner you desire - blackmail).
My advice is, first gather whatever evidence is easily obtained, then warn your manager that what he's doing may be illegal (preferably in writing - but avoid specifics as you don't want him claiming you slandered him, something general like, "I am concerned that the new tipping policy: (quote tipping policy) may not be entirely legal." and avoid stating what you want him to do about it). If he fails to correct the issues then take legal advice and turn over the evidence to the police. You'll find it much easier to follow-up with a tort case once a criminal conviction has been secured, although honestly it probably won't be worth it since U.K. tort law only covers direct losses, not punitive damages.
Or you could just get creative:
- Blue 'flu - All the waitering staff call in sick for a couple of nights. Let him see how much fun it is to run the restaurant on his own.
- Inform customers - Tell customers that the tips aren't going to you, and watch the tip revenue dry up... as well as the manager probably losing customers.
- Quit en masse - All or most of the waitering staff quit, preferably during an extremely busy period.
- Letter from your laywers - Most lawyers only charge a small fee for writing a letter to tell someone off. Get several staff to each chip in a bit and it doesn't cost all that much, but looks terribly impressive and threatening, plus he'll think twice about doing something stupid like firing anyone.
Just remember that whatever you do, cover your ass. You sound like you can't afford to be fired, so make sure everything is in writing, and you're above-board in every way. He might still fire you for rocking the boat, but if you have documents dating from before the firing showing that you were warning him off about possible illegal activity then he looks incredibly guilty.
