Front of house staff at PizzaExpress win campaign for bigger slice of tips

Front of house staff at PizzaExpress have successfully campaigned to reverse a move by a tronc committee to allocate a greater proportion of tips to kitchen staff.

In May 2021 a decision was taken to allocate 50% of electronic tips to kitchen staff and cut the percentage given to front of house teams from 70% to 50%.

But following a campaign supported by union Unite this will revert to the previous 70%/30% divide.

After the reduction for front of house teams was introduced by the tronc committee, which is comprised of PizzaExpress employees, some waiting staff reported their incomes had dropped by around £2,000 a year.

A spokesperson for PizzaExpress said: “The tipping policy is entirely employee-led and decided by the tronc committee, which is made up of employee elected representatives from each of the different regions and restaurant job roles, both front of house (waiter) and back of house (non-waiter).”

The restaurant group added: “100% of all tips continue to go to our restaurant teams and cash tips go directly to the server. PizzaExpress pays the card fees to ensure 100% of tips go to the restaurant team.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This decision is long-overdue and the right move. Congratulations to our Pizza Express waiting staff members who stood firm to fight this unpopular, unfair tipping policy in the face of pressure from the company to stay silent and accept a raw deal.

“This victory sends a clear message throughout the hospitality sector that Unite will challenge and overturn unfair tipping policies - and that this union will not rest in the defence of the jobs, pay and conditions of our members.”

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