Diners at some of the UK’s top restaurants have been alerted to new “cover charge” rules that could affect their bills. In a significant development, staff at prestigious London venues are contemplating legal action over cover charges that aren’t shared with them, despite being collected at high-profile places.
Employees at Harrods have disclosed to The Guardian their plans to approach Acas as a preliminary move towards an employment tribunal, supported by the United Voices of the World (UVW) union, in response to the £1 cover charge imposed in its eateries.
Alice Howick, part of the Harrods waiting team and UVW member, commented: “We are arguing that the cover charge is a kind of service charge in that it is an extra amount added to the customer’s bill before it is presented to the customer.”
Ahead of the bustling Christmas period, Alice expressed further concerns to the newspaper on Sunday (December 22), stating: “At the moment, all the revenue made from the cover charge is going directly to the company, but we believe it should be going to the employees.”
She also voiced worries about the potential impact on their service charge income. Bryan Simpson, Unite union’s lead organiser for hospitality, weighed in: “Unite is quite clear that cover charges are tips for the purposes of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act and that any attempts made by employers to hoodwink customers by simply renaming what is ostensibly a service charge would be immoral if not illegal.”
The union official stated: “Following multiple reports from Unite members in fine dining that some of the most prestigious brands in the country are using ‘cover charges’ to divert money intended for workers towards improving their own profit margins, we are currently considering legal action against the companies involved,”.