'Business owner is too cheap...': Restaurant adds 'living wage fee' to bill for staff payroll, gets slammed by netizens

A US restaurant is going viral on social media platforms like Instagram and Reddit these days. The reason for its becoming viral is for charging a "living wage fee" on its food bill.

According to the image posted on social media, the bill shows an order of a sandwich, a burger and fries. In that bill, apart from charging for the food items, the restaurant has also added a "living wage fee" of 18 per cent, amounting to $5.94 ( ₹515).

To get the final amount, tax is added to the subtotal. Adding on, the restaurant has also explained what the "living wage fee". This means that though many diners are not aware of it and may frequently ask questions about this charge.

The note read, “Living Wage Fee of 18 per cent added to each dine-in check. This fee goes directly to the staff payroll and provides a living wage to our team. If you choose to tip, tips are pooled amongst the entire team.”

As this has gone viral on reddit, people have started to comment too.

Here are a few comments:

One wrote, "It means the business owner is too cheap to pay his employees adequately, so he’s making you pay it."

Another wrote, "Oh can my employer (consultant) charges this fee to the customer (government)?"

A third commented, "Why add tip? You just robbed me of 18% because you can’t pay a living wage. It would be the last time I went to that restaurant."

"Increased the price. I would see that as a service charge," a fourth commented.

A fifth wrote, "They likely wanted to make staff pool tips with kitchen/back of house but aren’t allowed to by law, so they use this as a workaround."

A sixth wrote, "Give them £30 dollars and tell them you’ve deducted the cost of driving there."