Tipping point: some customers have different standards than others (Image: passiveaggressivenotes.com)
Restaurants may have to cross out the “20 per cent gratuity will be added to parties of six or more” line on their menus if a bill proposing the elimination of automatic tips gets passed at Queen’s Park. As Spacing points out, Bill 81 or the “Elimination of Automatic Tips Act, 2010” was brought forth by Liberal MPP David Caplan. A transcript of parliamentary proceedings had Caplan introducing the bill on May 20 (there’s also a YouTube video that had been viewed exactly nine times when we clicked on it).
Eliminating automatic tips, 2010, or EAT, prevents restaurant owners from charging automatic service charges in restaurants across Ontario.
The legislation has one exception. It excludes private functions and banquets. In this case, restaurant owners and operators would still be able to charge automatic service charges when dealing with private gatherings and banquets.
The bill is still in its early stages but no doubt it’s going to spur debates among patrons and those working in the hospitality industry. Should tips only be given out for exemplary service or are they a mandatory amount given to servers with a crappy job—even when they’re serving six people or more?
Last night we went for a xmas dinner with friends of ours. We wer a group of 50 a most of us are retired. When we received our bill we were shocked. We later found out that on top of the cost of the wine they added a automatic 20% tip and then added 13% HSt on top of the cost of the wine and tip so the wine that cost orginally $34.00 ended up costing us $46.10. Since when can they tax on tips. We were given our wine and no one came around to refill our glasses so why should I give this person 20% tip. The meal was the same they added 20% tip which was also taxed 13%. A quarter of our bill was for tips and taxes. We are a retired couple and we both agreed we will no longer be able to afford going out and enjoying a nice bottle of wine and a nice meal. What a shame that this Government as screwed us again.
December 11, 2010 at 4:15 pm | by ManonSick and tired of the overcharges on eating out at restaurants..I’m not paying the Gov. or the tips. All i want is good service as a client. or just lose the BUSINESS..
December 30, 2010 at 3:48 am | by sharonLEARN WHAT YOUR RIGHTS ARE FOLKS!
You;
Don’t have to pay for glasses (some restaurants have a ‘broken glass fund”
Don’t have to pay for a customer’s bill if they skip out on you.
You are entitled to vacation pay, ( 4% of your pay yearly) and holiday pay on statutory holidays; double time and a half or time and a half depending on whether you are full time or part time.
It is against labour laws to charge you a percentage on your tips to pay for credit card or debit charges.
If you are on call and come into to work you are entitled to 4 hours pay regardless if you worked less than that.
If any employer screams and verbally abuses you on a continual basis you can report them thanks to new bullying laws.
You can refuse to serve anyone who is threatening, or is perceived as a danger to you, or is sexually agressive and you cannot be fired for it. Before, you could only refuse work if a piece of machinery was perceived unsafe by you. Now a person can be considered as a hazard on the job.
I am not only an ex restaurant worker but I am also an ex restaurant owner. I never treated staff like they treat them now..not even close. Never charged them on their tips. I never touched their tips and they were paid them out after every shift.
How are restaurant owners getting away with this?
YOU LET THEM.
Call your labour board office and learn your rights!
January 5, 2011 at 11:34 pm | by SharonOur son is a cook in a national chain London On, ,( not by choice) he has had & lost 3 fulltime fine dining jobs in the past 18 mos in this recession due to closures, & scale downs.
January 8, 2011 at 9:35 am | by fairnessHe did his apprenticeship at a private golf club where he was included in the monthly tipout, approx $300.00 .Where he is now employed, the tipout is $50.00, as the owner uses the rest to pay for the tunic service( laundry exchange). Most back room workers have many tunics as they have had to buy their own in previous jobs, & all have had many previous jobs in this industry.I think they can launder their own as in the past.
No where in Bill 81 does it protect worker’s tips from being skimmed, it’s double win for the employer, who can use the laundry service as an expense, & keep the tips as undeclared income.There is nothing in the Ont Employment Stardards Act referring to distributing worker’s tips.
If Bill 81 passes, employers will find more innovative ways as mentioned above.
“Get another job” you say?….he has …3 times in 18 months.
Now, when my wife & I make a reservation we are sure to ask, ” do the workers get to keep their tips?” If the answer is “NO” or a reserved “sort of” we book another restaurant. I tip the workers for for their skill & service , not the owner.
The gov has a lower minimum wage for food industry because of “tips”& the owner takes them, this is criminal. Another point, our son’s measley tipout is incorporated in his wage, so it is taxed inside that wage. Our accountant informs me that if he puts down “0″ for tips on his income tax return, he will surely be audited. If he enters the tip ,he’s being taxed twice.
What an industry to work in…’fairness’ that’s all these folks want & deserve.
I have absolutely NO problem with automatic billing of tips to larger groups but I cannot understand why the HST must be charged on the tip. This is an extreme scam and should be illegal.
January 26, 2011 at 1:12 pm | by quickert“As multi-type professional I realise you have *know* idea what you are talking about, David Caplan!” – aj
“In other words walk *is some oneelses shoes* before hurting hard working people” – Dave McCleary
Clearly, the last two posts are people who don’t KNOW what they’re talking about. But with the grammar and spelling mistakes aside, I support Caplan’s bill because these so-called “student” servers have never worked at a Dairy Queen, or a McDonald’s before they found their job at a restaurant. On the Work Smart Ontario website, the minimum wage for STUDENTS, as of March 31, 2010, is listed as “9.60″. Even in 2006, it was listed as “7.50″. Back in 2006, when I lived in BC, I worked at McDonald’s for 6.50/hr with NO tip, NO other benefits, and definitely NO free meals during work, like most restaurants have. Even now, the minimum wage at McDonald’s is 8.25, only very slightly higher than the minimum wage of 8 bucks, the official m.w of BC. Compare that to the lovely $10.25 m.w of Ontario. The reason why you servers MIGHT make less than $10.25 is because you get free meals during your break, which is 2 bucks deducted from your base rate. And you still think that’s bad, compared to the 8 bucks/hr with NO free meals at a fast food restaurant, and may I again remind you, NO tips included? I’d say you all take Dave McCleary’s advice, with spelling corrections.
February 9, 2011 at 12:19 am | by jamcclearydaveTips are an on-going conversation with me and my friends. Most people think I’m cheap, which is not the case. I just think we are already taxed highly (in some Provinces up to 16%)on top of that we are expected to tip 20% to our server. For what? In my experience, in both high and low end restaurants, service is about the same each time. The server will take your order, small talk on occassion, clear your table and give you the bill. Done! Easy! So for that level of service, the expectation is I pay 20% more?
I would honestly prefer to pay more for my meal and let the restaurant deal with the tipping as they feel fit. If a server is require to pay the other staff out at the end of the night, then the restaurant should charge more for the meal and the restaurant deal with the payout as they feel fit.
Another option I prefer, I would tip the same amount each meal regardless of the cost of the meal and I would have a $2 limit if I could. Assuming you are seeing a few tables at a time you still make $2-$12 dollars extra an hour. Seems fair for the work you are doing. It doesn’t require and education, most time not a lot of training, obviously some social skills but common kindness and respect is about all.
I also find it interesting that servers say this is how they make money, it’s hard work, or they deal with a lot. I would agrue that the buser/dish washer is working their butt off, cleaning tables and doing all the grunt work. Servers go home with (in my experience) double or triple more money. Why don’t I have a say in where my money goes. I would pick them, if we are agruing who is deserving.
Oh, by the way I was a server for years and I made more money doing that then I would making $40,000-$60,000 a year (depending on the restaurant). So don’t feel too sorry for servers, from my experience they do quite well for themselves. Better than some professionals I know, as they don’t claim taxes in most cases. As for the job being hard, I’ve done a lot hard for a lot less pay.
February 16, 2011 at 4:48 pm | by Jennifer HoganSeriously, tip out is a problem. It should be addressed, if all the servers in Toronto protested, then business owners would be forced to lower the percentage. Power in numbers, most people dont genuinely want to tip, they do it out of morale or possibly guilt, but thank gooodness they tip. Others blatently refuse and don’t care to tip. Serving is difficult, speaking from experience. Tip out is a joke. Not fair that servers making minimum wage, have to give money to the entire store, those of whom are making minimum wage PLUS their weekly tip out. WE NEEEDD TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS INJUSTICE.
February 22, 2011 at 2:42 am | by RuthiiA tip is voluntary and should not be expected. Its like a
February 11, 2012 at 5:50 pm | by MVgift, you don’t ask for it! There are many people that work
for low wages in very demanding or dirty jobs and never get a tip. Its time the restaurant employers take on the responsibilities of paying their staff decent wages and raise the prices if they have to.
Envision a world where there is a tip jar at every fast food chain and they are treated equally to a server at a restaurant. After all, our local fast food chain worker works for a minimum wage of $10.25/hr, under high pressure with a ton of volume throughout the day with their fair share of ‘character customers’ just like the restaurant industry.
Imagine a world where our servers at these fancy restaurants have an increase to their minimum wage from $8.90/hr to the standard of $10.25/hr and be on par with other minimum wage workers (although I’m sure they make up more then the $1.35/hr in tips to already be on par with them).
How fantastic would everyone’s lives be if highly profitable restaurants at prime locations (McDonald’s, Boston Pizza, for example) actually paid their workers more then the minimum wage or gave them tips from the hard earned profit they make for their owner. Let’s say, a modest %5.
In the bigger picture, control the cost of gas, the housing market, transportation costs, car insurance and ridiculous cell phone rates to make living more affordable. Last I checked none of the majority of the above named none industries were struggling and continue to be highly profitable while ripping off their customers and employees.
As usual, the costs end up being paid by the common folk. Rather that’s in taxes or 20% gratuity.
May 4, 2012 at 10:12 am | by BE