New Quebec law changes the way tips are calculated
Bill 72 will exclude taxes when calculating the suggested tip
On Nov. 7, Quebec introduced a new law that mandates businesses to calculate tips based on the price excluding sales tax.
Bill 72 aims to take action against price gouging and help consumers make informed decisions.
However, some workers in the service industry are saying this bill is not a welcomed change.
Sebastian Pizarro-Cionti has been in the service industry for over a decade. He says this change will harm an already volatile post-pandemic industry.
“That 15 per cent of revenue is going to cost me nearly five to six thousand dollars which is the equivalent of a year of groceries,” Pizarro-Cionti said. “When you think about it, [this] is enormous.”
According to a 2022 report by the Association of Restaurants in Quebec, the province’s restaurant industry employs 186,000 workers.
All of these workers would be affected by Bill 72.
“I hope the government also has a plan to revitalize the service industry or do something to accompany this change,” Pizarro-Cionti said.
While customers can still manually enter a higher tip amount, tips have to be presented without the usual “good” “great” and “excellent” labels that are found in payment terminals in order to encourage neutrality.
However, economist Moshe Lander believes that tipping has to be abolished completely.
“If workers want to be paid for their efforts, they should just go to their employer saying ‘Pay me, or I will find someone that will,’” Lander said.
Lander believes that Bill 72 will force employers to increase their workers’ base wage.
“It's not like you can run a half-empty restaurant and stay in business for long,” Lander said.
For Sophia Cooke, a cashier and barista in Montreal, forgoing tips for higher wages would be ideal. However, she says that contract negotiations can often be stressful interpersonal moments for workers.
“Workers are often not equipped with the conflict management skills to enter into those kinds of loaded conversations,” Cooke said.
Cooke added that Bill 72 could threaten the service industry’s longevity. She worries that it will become even more competitive to find service work with fair treatment if the tipping culture becomes more accommodating to the consumer rather than the worker.
“Montreal has a really vibrant service industry with a lot of skill and a lot of passion, and I feel that's something I want to be a part of,” Cooke said.
Despite the vibrancy of the industry, Bill 72 is one of the reasons why she might not want to stay in it for much longer.
However, for Pizarro-Cionti, he plans to stay in the industry because it's not the wages that keep him there.
“I just like the contact with the people and the fast-paced environment, and the creativity that it demands of me,” Pizarro-Cionti said.
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