One of London’s biggest restaurant groups is to cut waiters’ tips and use some of the funds to increase the pay of head office workers.
A letter to workers first seen by the Guardian explains that waiting staff will receive between 25.45 and 29.4 per cent of the service charge collected at tables they have served, down from 37 per cent previously.
The new figures are already a reduction from the 45 per cent workers earned early last year. Bar staff, meanwhile, will receive 17 per cent of the service charge, down from 20 per year during the same period.
Gaucho is an Argentinian steak restaurant chain with 20 branches across the UK, 12 of which are in London.
The letter was sent by Gaucho’s troncmaster, a company called WMT Troncmaster, which manages the payment of service charge to staff.
It told employees that the service charge, a discretionary fee added to customer bills as a thank you for service, would be shared differently from October 1.
“The Troncmaster strongly believes that service charges are paid by customers in respect of their whole experience, and that all team members who play a part and impact on that experience should participate in, and receive a share of, the tronc funds,” the letter read.
The Standard has contacted Gaucho, which is part of Rare Restaurants, for more information.
A previous statement from a spokesperson for the chain said: “The new tronc distribution has been set by the independent troncmaster following industry benchmarking across our Gaucho employees.
“The new distribution takes into consideration all our front- and back-of-house colleagues. It is an equitable solution for all of our excellent people.
“The employee costs borne by the Gaucho business remain as before and the business itself does not benefit in any way from the amended tronc system.”
Gaucho said its new system is fully compliant with the law.
