A 10% Group Surcharge was introduced many years ago to recompense our
casual staff for parties of 8 or more. A party of say 20 requires a much higher
staffing level and is less cost effective than say 5 tables of 4 diners. In addition,
during the 80s and early 90s, at weekends, tables were often used 2 and
sometimes 3 times whereas a large party of 20 would tie up the front restaurant
as a single sitting for the evening. It would also tie our somewhat small kitchen
up so that we would be unable to take bookings for tables in the rear restaurant
for the first hour or so of the party's arrival.
When the National Minimum Wage was introduced in 1999 we were faced
with a financial shortfall. For many years prior to the NMW the standard catering
wage package was £3 per hour plus tips. By October 2009 the NMW, for over
22s, had increased to £5.80 per hour. We had to reduce our wage bill and at the
same time hang on to a goodly number of our trained casual staff for 'all hands to
the pumps' periods such as St Valentine's Day. Our solution was to introduce a
flexible shift finishing time but with a guaranteed minimum 3 hour shift. From 9pm
onwards if the restaurant is empty with no late bookings we pay the staff off and
close. Apart from controlling our wage bill this also reduced our energy costs by
around 15%. On the other hand if we still have diners the staff will stay until they
have finished. From a 6.30pm evening start if we close at 9pm staff will still be
paid for 3 hours as if they had worked until 9.30pm.
In order to recompense staff for this feast and famine scenario we introduced a
10% Service Charge for tables of 7 or less. This was added to the Group Surcharge
which is then divided weekly between our casual staff pro rata to the number of
hours worked. Tips on the other hand are divided by casual staff at the end of each
shift. Group Surcharge, Service charge and Tips have never formed part of our basic
remuneration package. These are paid on top of the basic wage whether it be
National Minimum Wage or higher.
