Skip to main content
Waiter was made to ‘foot the bill from his wages’ when customers left without paying

A LONDON restaurant chain has been “caught out” on its poor employment practices after a waiter was “made to foot the bill from his wages” when customers left without paying.

Sarah Hayward, who is the former Labour leader of Camden council, was dining at the Kentish Town branch of Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca on last night when a table of customers walked out of the building without paying their bill.

Ms Hayward claims she was told it was “company policy” to deduct the cost from the wages of the waiter responsible for the table.

She offered to provide further details of the incident to Wahaca owner Thomasina Miers to ensure that the worker would not be penalised because of the eat-and-run.

Ms Hayward shared her experience on Twitter, where her tweet was shared over 2,500 times with many reacting with anger.

As a result of the online furore, Wahaca have said that the bill would not be deducted from the worker’s wages.

They said that the company only makes waiters cover the bills of customers who leave without paying in cases of “total negligence,” and added that situations like this are “very rare.”

Ms Miers, who founded the restaurant chain in 2007 after winning the Masterchef TV show two years earlier, personally responded to Ms Hayward’s tweet by saying: “We are a company that looks after our staff, and I am very proud of this.”

This was disputed by Unite members who were contacted by the Star, who pointed out that Wahaca was criticised in 2015 for taking 3.3 per cent of workers’ credit card tips and 0.0075 per cent of their cash tips to management at the end of every shift.

Unite hospitality activist Nilufer Erdem told the Star: “This, sadly, is not an isolated case.

“Since opening, Wahaca has been one of the worst offenders of tip theft, according to many current and ex-employees.

“If Wahaca was telling the truth about treating its staff right, it would not have these punitive policies under any circumstances.

“The reality is that the company has been caught out for once and is desperately trying to save face rather than do the right thing.”

Morning Star Conference - Race, Sex & Class
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Britain / 27 February 2020
27 February 2020
Britain / 27 February 2020
27 February 2020
Britain / 26 February 2020
26 February 2020
Similar stories
A general view of the Harrods department store in Knightsbri
Britain / 5 December 2024
5 December 2024
Workers denied seasonal bonus while owners award themselves £180m
Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher arriving at Conservati
Features / 10 August 2024
10 August 2024
In the last of four extracts from his new memoir, the Star’s former industrial reporter recalls the opening shots — and at least one moment of glory — in what was to be a devastating decade for the union movement
THE BARBIE OF PROTEST? The Greta Thunberg in 2018
Books / 5 July 2024
5 July 2024
JOHN GREEN is intrigued by a persuasive study of a cultural malaise, and suggests a remedy