A lot of us, especially those who love to order their food instead of spending time in the kitchen, know that tipping culture may vary in different countries. And it’s not only about the general “rules” that are applied in different places. We, as customers, have our own understanding of whether we want to tip and what is the right amount that should be left. Probably a lot of times we don’t overthink this, but people who work in this industry very often rely on this sign of appreciation. But what if someone tells you that there is another part involved in making this decision? Reddit user @u/Sunyata666 has recently shared that the restaurant that they work for has announced a tip-receiving policy that doesn’t seem to be fair nor common in this type of industry.
More Info: Reddit
A restaurant employee decided to share with others online the tip distribution program that they have been presented in their new workplace
Image credits: Sunyata666
The note itself didn't require a lot of explanation as it was full of red flags and unreasonable rules, but the original poster shared some more details about this whole scheme
Some of the users online were quick to notice some concerning wording that shows how shady the restaurant appears to be and how they are trying to steal from employees without taking any responsibility
The user who just started working in this “take-out only” restaurant for $15 an hour shared a picture of a note that was found in their workplace. It stated that new employees only get their first tips after working there for 2 months. After these 2 months, they will receive a $75 cut from the whole amount of tips. And an increase of $25 each month will follow. It was also shared that after 6 months, if an employee reaches this period of time, they will be granted full long-time employee benefits. The note was finished with a request to not bother the management with tip-related questions, and if you do have any questions about this, it’s best to approach a long-time worker.
The business's suspicious rules explain why it only takes 6 months to become a long-time employee
The post received a lot of attention from other users online who quickly compared this with an MLM (Multi-level Marketing) scam and ruled this out as quite an illegal activity. The original poster added that because of them just starting, they haven’t received a tip, and so everything that they make together with new employees, according to the rules, go to workers who “aren’t even there.”
Image credits: Stevan Sheets (not the actual photo)
Very often the conversations about tipping are quite uncomfortable and lead to heated debates, and this time is no exception, making people mad about how unfair this whole system is
A lot of people in the comment section noticed a lot of red flags from the way this whole note was presented. Some of them were quick to notice and assume that this place probably has a high rate of change in staff as the wording “after 6 months of employment, if reached,” suggests that a lot of new workers find it hard to even stay in such a workplace for more than half a year. Another important point was that the amount of tips received is calculated not in percentages, as per usual, but in dollars. So no matter how much tip a worker gets throughout their shift, what they receive is a fixed amount.
Image credits: Pip R. Lagenta (not the actual photo)
This post started a heated discussion about how illegal it is, encouraging the employees of this restaurant to contact authorities and report the place for deceiving its workers. According to federal law, employers can ask employees to participate in “tip pooling”, meaning that they can all share the tips received, but employers don’t have the right to ask employees to share tips with them.
What is your take on this situation? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!
Some of the members of the online community shared their knowledge and experience on the topic
