The powerful public employee union ANEP and the Restaurant Chamber have combined forces to aid restaurant table staff who may be fired in the wake of an earlier Constitutional court decision regarding tips.

The ruling squeezed restaurateurs who, with the addition of tips, were forced to pay more to Social Security benefits and severance pay. So restaurant owners have been firing their table staffs and rehiring them on a commission basis.

The Constitutional Chamber (Sala IV) of the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that for tax measures as well as Social Security purposes tips must be considered as salary.

Restaurant owners feel they were caught up in the whirlpool surrounding the ruling since the tips, combined with on-going salaries, nicked them for higher benefits contributions as employers.

Contracting staff paid by only a salary that is 10% of the tips is perfectly legal and, should this amount not reach the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Even with this measure, many with experience find themselves, fired and re-contracted, to be earning far less than before. ANEP general secretary said a law change is urgent because he has received more and more reports of the firing-rehiring tactic being used.

Source: Fijatevos.com