Retention
tipsIncentivise and inspire your team.
The best employers anticipate potential pain points for their staff and take steps to avoid them. In recent years, many restaurateurs have incorporated online deliveries into their business model; the smart ones have adopted technology to stop this second revenue stream from overwhelming their employees.
Dimeji Sadiq is one such employer. As Vegan Shack has multiple online delivery partners, it uses Square to aggregate all the orders on the kitchen display system. “This is amazing for everyone in the kitchen and anyone handling orders,” said Sadiq.
All employees want to know that their efforts will be recognised and rewarded.
In the restaurant industry, that translates into tips. To maintain morale, it’s vital that tips are fairly and transparently distributed to staff. And soon it’ll be a legal requirement too. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act, also known as the Tips Act (2023), will come into force on 1 October 2024, requiring employers in England, Scotland and Wales to pass on all tips and service charges to staff without deductions3. The government has already released statutory guidance on distributing tips fairly.
As a restaurant owner, it’s up to you to create a written tipping policy about how tips are accepted, allocated and distributed. But you’re not alone. Square can help you manage tips effectively and stay compliant with the new legislation.
We’re already helping businesses transform tipping from an imposition into an incentive. Matt Walsh owns the restaurant chain Tender Cow. “As a quick-service restaurant, we’re all counter service and my kitchen staff wasn’t getting any tips,” he says. He introduced the Square restaurant POS, and using the tipping function he’s increased staff wages by up to £200 a month. He adds, “Since starting with Square, we’ve definitely improved as a business, especially in terms of staff retention and morale.”
