Inflation, and particularly rising food prices, has pushed up restaurant bills. And the higher the bill, the more interesting the tip will be for the server, since it is calculated on the bill, which widens the gap between the wages of the servers and those of the kitchen employees of the same restaurant. According to the Association des restaurateurs du Québec (ARQ), which is asking that the law be changed to allow the sharing of tips, in a situation of labor shortage, the situation is untenable.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
“The pandemic caused us to lose many kitchen employees,” explains Martin Vézina, vice-president of public and governmental affairs at the ARQ. With the ball of closings and openings, some have turned to the health or construction sector, he explains. Result: the recruitment of chefs, pantry or dishwashers is very difficult.
According to Labor Standards Act in Quebec, the tip belongs to the employee who receives it from the customer. A restaurateur cannot therefore oblige his employees in the dining room, mainly the waiters, to share the tips with the kitchen employees. This obviously leads to a great disproportion of income within the same restaurant. According to data from the ARQ, in the fall of 2021, a cook got away with an average salary of $19 an hour, while his server colleague pocketed more like $35.
What is possible, however, is that the employees decide between themselves to separate the tips. They must then agree on an agreement without the right of scrutiny from their employer.
Many restaurants operate this way. The ARQ does not have data on the share of Quebec establishments where tips are shared, but notes the following: restaurants that have a sharing agreement will have more difficulty recruiting servers, particularly in the current context where the potential candidate just has to knock on the next door to find a job, explains Martin Vézina.
The Association des restaurateurs du Québec has been defending this issue for a long time. At his request, the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity, Jean Boulet, created a committee on the sharing of tips which brought together representatives of the catering industry, the Ministry and trade unions. The ARQ is preparing to submit its report to the Ministry.
“As this involves a change in the law, it is therefore more complicated,” says Martin Vézina.
Tax review
Jean Bédard, big boss of the Grandio group, well known for its La Cage restaurants, supports the revision of the Labor Standards Act. He registered with the Quebec Lobbyists Registry this week with his colleague Pierre Moreau, CEO of Restos Plaisirs, which is now part of the Grandio group.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Jean Bédard, president of the Grandio group
“The imbalance between the effective wages of kitchen workers and their co-workers continues to grow, and it is increasingly difficult to hire and retain kitchen workers,” the listing reads. “The COVID-19 crisis in Quebec has had a devastating effect on the restaurant workforce,” it is also specified.
In addition to tip sharing, restaurateurs want a review of how tip credits are calculated. Currently, the employer receives a refund of his contributions on 75% of the tips declared; restaurateurs are asking for refunds to be calculated on the full amount of tips received by their employees.