Antony Worrall Thompson says "Scrap the minimum wage for Restaurant Workers"

Yep, I saw that, and I liked the fact that Dara O'Briain could hardly be bothered to even try and conceal his loathing of squirrel thompson.

Worrall Thompson, earlier today.

Fabulous pettiness from a variety of employers on the introduction of the new minimum wage, via the FT.

Costa has withdrawn the free panino staff working full-day shifts were entitled to.

Zizzi has downgraded the proportion of tips going to wait staff from 70% to 50%. They can still have a free pizza but are no longer allowed toppings.

Tesco, B&Q and Dunelm have scrapped double-pay for Sundays and Bank Holidays.

All is for the best in the best of all possible economies

Meanwhile, this is a new model:

http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/restaurants/news/a40218/danny-meyer-tipping/

Tesco, B&Q and Dunelm have scrapped double-pay for Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Case for strike action?

These are notoriously under-unionized sectors aren't they?

Yes, I fear you might have to explain the concept of strike action first.

Most things are under-unionised these days - wondering to what extent in Retail.

Sadly, people in the shittiest, lowest paid jobs are often the most likely to take all the shit that is thrown at them, be stoically gloomily grateful for their shit jobs and the least likely to join unions. Also some of these fuckers voted for the Tories and didn't see themselves as benefits recipients at the time. Now most of them are worse off I hope they have a good think about it!

I worked in a b&q as a teenager and it was company policy that you weren't allowed to discuss union matters during working hours/on the premises.

also didn't get double pay on sundays tbh

I think a lot of double pay stopped in 2007. I used to re-wire schools every summer and make some good wages. And then at some point employers I was working for started talking recession-balls, even though they were still making good money. The one guy who was a member of Unite and refused to do overtime got initially demoted and then let go.

Zizzi has downgraded the proportion of tips going to wait staff from 70% to 50%. They can still have a free pizza but are no longer allowed toppings.

Someone's having a right laugh about this one in particular

I've worked in retail for nearly a decade and I've met one person in my whole career who has a Union rep and it's treated as a running joke because it is so uncommon

I would like to make it clear that Zizzi do not take any share of tips whatsoever from our staff. The only deduction made by the company are those required by HMRC as detailed below. Additionally tipping is not linked in any way to hourly rates of pay or to “top up” pay to National Minimum Wage Levels. The below information can also be found on our website:

Zizzi has supported the introduction of the National Living Wage from the outset, underpinned by its belief that its employees are an essential part of its business who should be rewarded fairly. As a result, Zizzi went beyond the Government’s requirements on 4th April by awarding additional pay rises to many of those who were already above the living wage, including chefs and managers.

As part of a broader review of employee pay and benefits that we started last September, we amended our employee food policy so that it can be enjoyed by all, whereas previously it had been restricted to those working at least a six hour shift. This additional benefit results in a fairer and more equitable policy as a subsidised staff food menu with dishes of £1 or £2 is now available to all regardless of the length of their shift. We still provide free teas, coffee and squash to all. For those working more than 6 hours there is a choice of a free margherita pizza or a pasta pomodoro.

Lastly, we believe in distributing tips fairly, and work in consultation with our teams to ensure we get this right. We’re proud of our policy that ensures 100% of all tips go directly to the restaurant teams and enables our individual waiters to be rewarded for their great service whilst also recognising the efforts of the rest of the team who have contributed to the experience.

Zizzi does not make any form of deduction other than those required by the HMRC. All tips paid in cash go to the waiter concerned. Tips paid by credit card are distributed via the Tronc system, the distribution of which is decided by our Tronc master, a Zizzi restaurant manager, through a consultation process with the wider restaurants teams including other managers, waiters and chefs.

Following a recent consultation across the business our Tronc Master has recommended and we accepted, a change to how Tronc tips are distributed to more fairly reflect the combined efforts of the entire team. From April 4th the Tronc is now split 50% to the waiter serving your table (previously 70%) and 50% is shared amongst the other non-management members of the team working that day (previously 30%).

We have a fantastic team who have been instrumental in delivering our successful growth over the last few years. The changes we have introduced reflect their strong performance by bringing them widespread benefits applied in a more transparent and equitable way.

So this is on the ballot in DC but apparently it's likely to fail (ballot measure 77, btw, which just underscores to me that it should pass). I've been sort of disheartened by how many DC friends I've seen on facebook opposing it, buying into the worst chicken-little sorts of stories that the restaurant industry is telling.

Sorry, I mean not "this" is on the ballot (not thread title), but scrapping restaurant minimum wage plus tips in exchange for regular minimum wage.