Tips? Staff won’t be getting any if they p*** me off: Islington' pub boss's notice

Tip fury: The Elk in The Woods restaurant in Camden Passage
Nigel Howard
Simon Freeman18 September 2015

A manager at a popular bar in north London vowed to withhold tips left for staff if they annoyed him, an internal document seen by the Evening Standard shows.

In a notice to workers at The Elk in the Woods pub at Angel, a new tipping points system was introduced by management.

Tips were to be deducted from staff if they were late for work, unable to be flexible with shifts and not “upselling” more expensive products. The tips would be given to those with “the ability not to piss me off”.

A former member of staff said: “When we saw this we were all shocked. It was completely ridiculous and makes a complete mockery of tipping generally.

The notice to staff at the Islington pub

"Tips are left by customers for staff. It should not be for management to withhold them from us and only hand them out if we adhere to arbitrary rules.”

The notice said the system was to “considerably reduce the mistakes” in the bar and restaurant, and is signed off “making an voids oin [sic] the till will result in a loss of tips”.

Management at The Elk in the Woods could not be reached for comment.

It follows the revelation that dozens of restaurants across London were not handing service charge and tips directly to waiting staff.

The Government has already launched a consultation. Pizza Express decided last week to scrap an eight per cent admin fee that bosses took from any tips left for staff via a credit or debit card.

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