r/southafrica • u/0hBecca • 1d ago
Discussion Is this exploitation
Hey everyone so I'm currently working as a server in a restaurant. We only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9-4. Anyways, we get paid R180 a day (around R25 an hour) and we get tips. When I went for the job interview I was informed that 10% of our tips will be going to the kitchen staff, which was alright with me but I've now discovered that they haven't seen any of that tip money. So I believe the owners take the 10% for themselves. Every week we also get deducted R20 from our wages for a breakage fee, even if nothing had been broken during our shifts. Is this right and normal? I've worked at another serving job before but over there we had to split tips but we didn't have to pay a breakage fee despite if something had broke.
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u/Terrible_Rice1163 1d ago edited 1d ago
"Is this exploitation?" if it's a restaurant then the answer is probably yes
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u/0hBecca 1d ago
So true. I just wish people would stand up for it. Restaurants always get away with things that are so unethical. I've honestly considered sending a legal threat their way as my mom works for a large lawfirm who would be happy to do me a favor. But that would obviously get me fired immediately haha and I've worked there for most of this year so I don't want to lose them as a reference in my CV. I guess it's sorta of a pipe dream. Also I just want to mention that their liquor license expired in 2017 so I don't even know how they're still open!
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u/Animefaerie 1d ago
Problem is that we have too many people and too few jobs, bosses know this and people are afraid to risk losing their jobs so they get taken advantage of. Most people can't afford a lawyer either, so the poor get screwed over the most.
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u/Opheleone 1d ago
They can't fire you for taking them to court over genuine legal grounds. If they did, they'd only be giving you more legal grounds.
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u/ScaryFace84 1d ago
This is more common than you'd think, a lot of these places take advantage of staff, both servers and kitchen staff,they are definitely pocketing the 10% and I wouldn't be surprised if you guys got a huge tip from a generous table they would find some excuse to screw you out of your share.
You can either stay and accept it or go, you aren't going to change their dodgy business practices.
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u/0hBecca 1d ago
Yes this is what happened to one of my coworkers. We held an event there where there was about 20+ people who ordered off the menu. They did pay an additional event hiring cost. Anyways with large tables we usually add an extra 10% gratuity. My coworker did this for them because I guess it's not fair to spend so many hours on a table and not recieve anything for it. Anyways the owners found out about the extra 10% and told him he's not allowed to do that and took it away from his salary. Two weeks later, we have another event- this time the owners daughter added the 10% gratuity, nothing was said though and she ended up making a R1000 tip.
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u/Daddy-Africa 1d ago
That’s not normal and it’s not legal in South Africa.
- You’re being underpaid. The national minimum wage is R28.79/hr, so R25/hr is below what you’re legally entitled to. Tips don’t replace minimum wage, your boss still has to pay you that rate.
- The 10% “for the kitchen” that never reaches them is basically wage theft. Tips belong to staff, not the owner.
- The R20 weekly “breakage fee” is also unlawful. Employers can only deduct money if you agree in writing, if something actually broke because of you, and if the real cost is shown. Taking it every week no matter what isn’t allowed.
Keep records of your hours, pay, and deductions. If they keep this up, you can report them to the Department of Labour or the CCMA.
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u/piggypurple 22h ago
Lol when I waitered at a certain chain we paid R10 breakage fees every shift. I never once broke a single thing and worked there for over a year!
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u/ProbablyNotTacitus Landed Gentry 1d ago
It’s the most corrupt industry ever they always fuck you over. I will never in the restaurant industry again. I did as a student and it’s all the same scummy owners taking wages form exploited staff.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/0hBecca 1d ago edited 1d ago
that's the thing the kitchen staff don't see it at all. maybe it goes towards their salary? but I'm not sure. I had a customer who gave me R100 and said I must give it to our kitchen staff. She said this in front of my boss and I. My boss told me to just put it in the registry. When I asked the kitchen staff if they ever received that R100 they said nope and told me to try bring it to them directly next time. I do understand that I'm lucky to have a job, I just don't like being lied to. If they maybe told me during my job interview "hey we take 10% of your tips to help with business costs" I would be way more understanding.
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u/ironicallygeneral Aristocracy 1d ago
Definitely dodgy. It's been a few years since I've been in the industry so not sure what the current rules on breakages are, but my last restaurant boss was a stickler for rules and did not take anything from the waiters and bar staff unless someone was deliberate or extra careless. However, if they are pocketing any of your tips, especially if you've been told it's to go to other staff, that is illegal.
The bigger question unfortunately is... Is it worth it?
Restaurants tend to have a high staff turnover and there's always someone willing to fill the gap, so it's easy to just not shift someone who's accusing management of anything bad (sometimes referred to as "difficult" or a "trouble maker").
In my experience, 9 times out of 10, taking the boss to task over things like this is a lonely task, and dangerous and thankless.
If this is a holiday/gap year/side job, you will have a lot less to lose, but for some people this is going to be their main chance for a living and they won't want to jeopardise it...
The best you can do is probably lay a report with the CCMA but generally it's not going to go anywhere, because even if they come along and inspect the place, that kind of tip theft is always under the table and hard to prove, and the staff that can back the claim up are often terrified of losing their jobs, so would rather stay quiet. I've seen it first hand at some places and heard exactly the same story from friends. Unfortunately in some establishments the rot is just too deep.
Please don't misunderstand, I don't believe it's fair at all, and I'd give a lot to be proven wrong! If you do confront this, keep us posted.
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u/Fishe_95 Gauteng 1d ago
It's not right, but sadly, it is normal. When I worked as a server in 2019 we got paid nothing (only tips) and the same bullshit of "giving 10% of tips to kitchen staff" (who never saw a cent of it) applied. Same with the breakage fee, which was R20 a shift (so R40 if you worked a double)
Some days I wouldn't even make enough to cover that, so I ended up paying the restaurant money I didn't have — for what? The privilege of working there, I suppose. I don't miss it. And I'm very selective with the restaurants I eat at, these days.
OP, look into the CCMA. Might be able to help
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u/Animefaerie 1d ago
I remember working at a popular restaurant back in the day, no basic, only tips, had to pay breakage fees every shift, had to purchase a 'uniform' for R200 which consisted of one t-shirt and an apron, we got fined R100 for things like chipped nail polish or if we forgot to bring pens. Super dodgy.
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u/Automatic-Lynx-2967 21h ago
We paid R60 breakage per shift and when we tried to dispute it we got ostracized. Restaurant owners are the worst!
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u/Additional_Grass6969 5h ago
Thats 10000% exploitation. Curious what restaurant this is bc I worked at one that I know would do this if they wanted.
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u/808nXP 1d ago
Question from me would be.. underlying, are you asking if you should move on?
Probably would be the answer, otherwise understand that all businesses have questionable ethical practices, mention and you might as well resign.
If you'd like to move on, I'd vouch for it whole heatedly, truth though, is that we currently in a shit space economically so it might be tough to secure another job.
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