Nice to see this still goes on

[vetran]

AA Gill alerted me to this and used to do exactly the same as you. He made quite a fuss about it, so I wasn't surprised that he wasn't very popular with restauranteurs.

I do the same thing these days, I always make sure that I have cash in my pocket for tips when I go to restaurants.

and you get to shaft HMRC on the NI!

[cojak]

I ate at Heston's "Perfectionist's Café" in October. I queried where the added service charge that was automatically added to the bill, went to. I was informed by the Waitress, that it went to the restaurant. They shared a portion of it out...

I asked to have it removed and I paid her the equivalent, in cash.

Greedy bastards

PS - the food was very good, as an aside.

AA Gill alerted me to this and used to do exactly the same as you. He made quite a fuss about it, so I wasn't surprised that he wasn't very popular with restauranteurs.

I do the same thing these days, I always make sure that I have cash in my pocket for tips when I go to restaurants.

[vetran]

I knew a mohel who got a lot of tips.

So does NLYUK!

[vetran]

Cash ones don't attract NI - learnt something!

https://www.gov.uk/tips-at-work/tips-and-tax

If you get cash tips directly from a customer, you have to pay tax on them but not National Insurance.

If you fill in a Self Assessment tax return, you have to include the tips on it.

If you don’t fill out a tax return then HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will estimate your tips based on information from you or your employer. HMRC will give your employer a tax code so they can collect tax through Pay As You Earn (PAYE). This is where tax is taken from your wages before you get them.

and there is a code of Practice Mr Poux is ignoring.

Discretionary Tips & Service Changes - Code of Practice - British Hospitality Association

What deductions may be made from discretionary service charge or noncash tips paid to the restaurant before they are made available for allocation to employees?
There is no legal requirement for the restaurant to allocate a particular proportion of the service charge or tip income to employees. However, a deduction for costs incurred in handling these sums would cover credit card and banking charges, payroll processing costs, and the average costs of credit card fraud. The level of costs deducted will vary, depending on the nature of the business. Any deductions made by the restaurant over and above those for these costs should be disclosed to customers as part of the disclosure process (see below).
How should discretionary service charge and non-cash tips be paid out?
Where discretionary service charge and non-cash tips are paid to employees by the restaurant, they are most commonly paid from the restaurant’s bank account, with Income Tax deducted under PAYE. The broad process for distribution of these amounts should be disclosed to customers as part of the disclosure process (see below).
What disclosure should be made?
Restaurants should disclose to customers how they deal with discretionary service charge and non-cash tips, at least by a written note available for inspection at each restaurant and on the restaurant’s website, if there is one.
The disclosure should cover:
i) Whether an amount is deducted for handling costs (and how much);
ii) How the remainder is shared between the restaurant and the
employees;
iii) The broad process for distribution, for example, that they are shared
between the employees in the restaurant through a system controlled
by a representative of the employees.

Le Gavroche - British Hospitality Association


Doesn't seem to be on his website.

[d000hg]

Seems to me tips are just a way for the business to justify underpaying the staff, as indeed is the case here.

Or a way to reward performance, like employers paying sales bonuses but more direct as the customer chooses directly.

I didn't know restaurants were allowed to keep the tips, I thought the law required them to distribute them.
I can see the logic of accounting for the tips because otherwise it's un-taxed income.

It's interesting how tipping culture varies around the world. Obviously the US is one extreme and I suppose the UK is somewhere in the middle, in Finland it's apparently a bit of a faux pas to leave a tip.

[vetran]

I ate at Heston's "Perfectionist's Café" in October. I queried where the added service charge that was automatically added to the bill, went to. I was informed by the Waitress, that it went to the restaurant. They shared a portion of it out...

I asked to have it removed and I paid her the equivalent, in cash.

Greedy bastards

PS - the food was very good, as an aside.

Indeed when it first came in I questioned it, realised it was a revenue scam & I always cross through it.

If anyone asks - "didn't you have good service / aren't we worth it" after I cross through I normally say either "If you don't pay your staff enough that is your problem, tell me does that service charge all go to to the staff?" or "No you need to invest in them" if they are any good I pay a cash tip.

[NotAllThere]

I knew a mohel who got a lot of tips.

[VectraMan]

I asked* my client if in addition to the agreed rate I could have a share of the revenue they got from their customers, but they said no ;-(.

Seems to me tips are just a way for the business to justify underpaying the staff, as indeed is the case here.

*Not really.

[Scruff]

I ate at Heston's "Perfectionist's Café" in October. I queried where the added service charge that was automatically added to the bill, went to. I was informed by the Waitress, that it went to the restaurant. They shared a portion of it out...

I asked to have it removed and I paid her the equivalent, in cash.

Greedy bastards

PS - the food was very good, as an aside.

[vetran]

Michel Roux Jr admits he keeps all the tips at his £212-a-head restaurant | Daily Mail Online

I keep all the tips at my £212-a-head restaurant, admits Michel Roux Jr - days after revelations staff made less than the minimum wage
It comes days after he apologised for his chefs not making the minimum wage
He justified this by saying they share in the 13% discretionary service charge
But he has now u-turned saying it is 'revenue' and that he keeps all of it
Customers pay £212 each for the fixed price menu at La Gavroche in Mayfair

yesterday you were having a go at Rio Ferdinand because he only donated £0.5M this bloke steals off his staff.