Hello. This is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I’m Sam.
And I’m Neil.
In this programme, we’re talking
all about restaurants –
specifically about tipping.
That’s giving money to waiting
staff for the service
you received.
Yes, while tipping is
discretionary – which means
that someone can decide whether
they want to give money or
not – in most places in the UK
it’s an expected practice.
But have you ever thought where
that money goes or who actually
receives it? Do they have to
pay tax on it – or is it
just a gift?
Some people think that the
person who brought our food
is the one who gets the money,
however that isn’t always the case.
Well, before we find out more
about where our tips go, I have
a question about restaurants.
The highest restaurant in
the world, At.mosphere, is
in Dubai, in the building known
as the Burj Khalifa – but how
high up is that restaurant?
Is it: a) 442 metres,
b) 532 metres, c) 622 metres?
Well, that all sounds really
high up, but I’m going to
say c) 622 metres.
OK, I’ll reveal the answer
towards the end of the show.
But now let’s talk more about
what happens to your tips
once you have given
them to someone.
It seems that different
restaurants and businesses have
different systems in place
across the country.
And sadly, that isn’t always
to the benefit of all waiting
staff – that’s according to
James James, a waiter, who was
speaking with Peter White on
the BBC programme You and Yours.
There’s nothing consistent
about the tipping system
throughout all the different
companies – they all have their
own, and they’re all unfair in
their own equal way. A tip is
not mandatory - I have to
earn it as a reward for the
service I provide. People
don’t tip for good food,
they already paid for it on
the bill. Recently, when I’ve
been given cash, I’ve been
imposed in more than one
company to put it in a jar
and split it – the split
hasn’t exactly been fair
to me. My first week at one
job I did £50 in the jar
for week – that was just
myself and there’s
four other servers.
And at the end of the week, I
was presented with a bag
with £2.45 in it.
So, James James used the word
consistent – which means
acting the same way over
time – however he used it
negatively when talking
about the tipping systems
in most companies.
He also used mandatory –
which is something someone
must do and is the opposite
of the word discretionary.
And he also said imposed,
which means forced
upon someone.
So, it seems that James James
is not impressed by some
businesses’ tipping systems.
However, for many restaurants
there is a special arrangement
with the UK tax body, the HMRC.
Yes – it’s called a tronc
system – which sees all of the
tips collected in one separate
independent bank account and
stops the payments being
charged at the wrong
rate of tax.
Kate Nicholls, a representative
for UK Hospitality, speaking
with Peter White on the
BBC programme You and Yours,
explains more about the
intention of a tronc system.
Well increasingly, as we’re
moving towards a cashless
society – increased use of
credit card, particularly
over the Covid pandemic, more
and more of those tips,
gratuities, service charges are
coming through on a credit card
payment, and a tronc is a
special arrangement organised
with HMRC that lets businesses
pool tips and service charges
and then fairly
distribute them.
Kate Nicholls mentioned that
society is becoming cashless –
which means fewer people
are using paper notes or
coins to pay for
things, preferring to use
credit cards.
She also used the verb
pool – a word which means
collect together or group.
It’s very interesting to
note that payments which
you give to one person may
be distributed equally across
the business, from kitchen
staff to management, depending
on a business’s protocol.
But that brings me back to
today’s question. I asked
you how high up is the
world’s highest restaurant.
You certainly did and they
all sounded exceptionally
high up – I went for option
c) 622 metres in the air – the
tallest option. Was I right?
I’m afraid not – not this
time. At.mosphere is actually
442 metres in the air, so not
quite as high as you thought.
Well, it still sounds pretty
high to me! Now it’s time to
recap some of the vocabulary
we’ve mentioned today. First
off, we had discretionary,
which is something that is
a choice for the person doing
it and is not an obligation.
Consistent describes something
that acts or behaves in the
same way over and over again.
Then we had mandatory – which
describes something a
person must do.
If something is imposed
on you, it is forced on you.
Cashless refers to card or
digital payments, rather than
notes and coins – while pool
is a verb and means group
together all in one place.
Well, that certainly is
food for thought next time
you dine out. That brings
us to end of this week’s
6 Minute English – but
remember that there’s a
range of other topics that
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Thanks for listening
and goodbye.
Goodbye.