The Commerce Commission is warning restaurants and bars this weekend to stop illegally charging customers over the Easter holidays.
It says some businesses will be breaking the law by charging "public holiday surcharges" on the wrong days.
Plenty of restaurants and bars charged an extra 15 percent yesterday, Good Friday, to cover the costs of paying staff time and a half. They will do the same again on Easter Monday.
But the Commerce Commission is warning that businesses are cheating the system if they try the same thing on Easter Saturday and Sunday, which are not official public holidays.
"They're just taking advantage of the situation and they should be outed," says Charles Ewer of the Service and Food Workers Union.
It is also compulsory to advertise any surcharges prominently. But when 3 News went looking, we found that most places were not doing that.
"I don't really think anybody's actually setting out to rip the public off," says Bruce Robertson of the Hospitality Association. "But if it does occur it's likely to occur through simple ignorance."
The Service and Food Workers Union disagrees.
"I don't think employers would be confused," says Mr Ewer. "They would know what they have to pay their workers and what they don't have to pay their workers."
The Commerce Commission says it struggles regularly with businesses who continue to break the law. It says businesses must advertise their surcharges in a prominent place and be honest about the reasons for it.
To add to the confusion, customers must buy a meal if they want a drink on Good Friday or Easter Sunday, which raises questions.
"They might not be charging surcharge, but they're making you buy a meal to buy a pint," says bar patron Matthew Moran. "Is that right? You could class that as a surcharge? Am I right or am I wrong?"
Many places choose to get around the confusion by not charging extra at all. O'Hagan's in uckland's viaduct doesn't bother.
"From the customers' feedback we found they think the places that do charge it are being a bit greedy," says bar manager Fern Ings.
And that also seems to keep the customers happy.
"If they're open, they're open," say bar patron Luke Campbell. "You shouldn't be able to charge more because it's a public holiday. They shouldn't open if they want to charge more, should they?"
Many cafes and bars are charging extra on public holidays, so if you do not want to pay, you might have to shop around.
3 News
source: newshub archive
