Las Iguanas rebukes claims staff made to ‘pay to work’

Las Iguanas has rebuked claims that their staff are made to ‘pay to work’.

In a posting on The Exeter Daily last night, 38 Degrees said people in Exeter are taking action to stop the restaurant forcing staff to pay back 3% of their total sales at the end of each shift.

A spokesman for Las Iguanas said: “Claims that we make staff ‘pay to work’ are ridiculous, as that would be illegal and bears no resemblance to our actual policy.

“We are mystified about where this has come from. At no time has 38 Degrees contacted us to enable us to explain our approach. Aside from that, we cannot change something that doesn’t happen.

“38 Degrees’ website quotes a former member of staff who worked for Las Iguanas six years’ ago for a short period of time, and who has made unsubstantiated claims.

“Our tipping policy has been well established for around 20 years and, among other things, enables us to ensure that tips generously given by our guests are shared throughout the restaurant team so that everyone feels rewarded.

“This is standard practice in the industry, and has resulted in Las Iguanas’ outstanding record in employee relations, and numerous employer awards, all based on independent feedback from team members, including 2015 Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For, and Investors in People Gold and Champion status.

“All our employees are paid in line with, or above, national minimum wage, and our staff retention is amongst the best in the industry. Over many years we have always made employees very aware of how we distribute and share tips, and the matter has been debated during staff feedback sessions during that time.”