Labour shortages in the restaurant industry

CookieMonster said:
what has been omitted:
the employer pays the maximum tip credit wage.
if the tipped employee does not get enough tips to meet the full minimum Federal or State wage for the hours worked, the employer must pay all additional so the employee gets the full minimum wage.

places that eliminated tipping "in order to provide a living wage and benefits" rather rapidly lost their best waitstaff - and it wasn't because the were making more money on the "living wage" plan.
most places that eliminated tipping have later reversed their policies.
Click to expand...

The tip credit benefits the employer more than the employee. Under federal law and in most states, employers may pay tipped employees less than the minimum wage, as long as employees earn enough in tips to make up the difference. So, the tip credit is treated like wages paid by the employer toward the gross minimum wage.

Yes, if the tipped worker makes less than the minimum wage, the employer pays the difference -- but nobody wants those jobs. The whole idea is to make MORE than minimum wage with a tipped job.

Texas is business friendly, and worker unfriendly. Businesses basically write the laws here (with the exception of vaccine mandates -- another topic). The federal minimum wage is $7.50/hour, which is also the Texas minimum. For tipped workers, it is $2.13/hour. Employers also get a tip credit.

BTW, kitchen workers in Texas (and many other places) don't get paid much for what they do. As a consequence, the kitchens are full of Mexican immigrants, some documented and many undocumented. If we deported every illegal immigrant in Texas, all of the restaurants would have to close --- no kitchen staff.

CD
 
Hospitality business has been hard hit over in the UK, too. Lots of people who left during the pandemic are now thinking - why should I go back to hot, sweaty kitchens, long hours and abusive customers when I can work somewhere quieter/at home/ in an office, etc. Plus, the quality of staff is deficient. The bloke next door is a full-time chef and he´s lost at least a dozen assistants/cooks/line chefs in the past 6 months. He says they want the "prestige" of being a "Chef" but don´t wnat to do the hard work.
 
Oddly, you can add lifeguards to the list as well. During the heatwave(s) we’re having this summer, and fully half the public pools are closed because they can’t find enough lifeguards.
 
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