Public holiday surcharge hits cafes

A number of Melbourne cafes have been carrying the sign lately notifying patrons of a 10 to 15 per cent public holiday surcharge.

The idea behind it is to cover the penalty rates of staff who work public holidays.

But some say the levy doesn’t actually go to staff.

“David”, who works at a well-known café in Melbourne’s CBD says the money goes straight into the owner’s pocket.

The owners, he says, are just taking advantage of customers’ willingness to do the right thing.

“We never get paid penalty rates," David told the ABC.

 "Pretty much all the customers feel the surcharge is OK because they think it's going to the staff. It's not," he said.

"The reason they're not paying it on to the staff is because they can. There's no consequence until someone puts their hand up and calls them out on it, but people are afraid to. The bosses simply say, 'take me to court'."

He says it’s a growing trend in Melbourne.

"I'd say half of the places I've worked at in the last 10 years have applied the surcharge, and only half of those passed it onto staff in penalty rates,” he told the ABC.

'Christa', a chef at a Melbourne bayside cafe, said her employers do pass some of the 10 per cent public holiday surcharge on to their staff.

And she says it’s all made in cash and kept off the books.

"If they take an extra $500 through the surcharge today, they'll divide $300 among the staff and pocket the rest," “Christa” told the ABC.

"I worked four days over Easter and got less than $100 extra cash in hand.”

The hospitality union United Voice says employers are doing it simply because they can get away with it.

"Employers know the chances of getting caught are remote, and the worst they have to fear is being forced to pay back stolen wages and get a slap on the wrist," the union's Victorian secretary, Jess Walsh told the ABC.

"We've been told about dozens of venues that have a surcharge but don't pay workers public holiday penalty rates.

"Venues need to know they will lose business if they keep doing this. So if you're at a venue on Anzac Day, ask the staff: do you get penalty rates? If they don't, then find a place that does pay staff properly."

Leon Getler 26th April 2018.