Restaurants to put up costs to cover tips changes

The impending closure of the loophole allowing restaurants to use tips to top up staff pay to National Minimum Wage (NMW) levels could mean that businesses affected by the legislation will have to raise their prices. A report by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that average pay for bar and waiting staff is around £3.50-£3.75 an hour, plus tips. Because wages are usually restaurants' largest outgoings, they can expect to have to raise their costs by around 10%, the report speculates.

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