On Lake Zurich, a waiter has likely achieved an all-time economic record, earning over €17,000 per month, excluding tips. Why? Two restaurant chains have recalculated salaries based on the turnover of a booming season, as allowed by the national contract.
The news
It's been said for a while now: can't find waiters? Pay them more. In Switzerland, they seem to have taken this seriously, as they usually do. A waiter at a restaurant on Lake Zurich reportedly earned 16,500 Swiss francs per month (equivalent to €17,250) in June, excluding tips, as reported by tvsvizzera.it. This is probably the highest amount ever earned by a table service employee, despite the country's average salary being around 4,000 Swiss francs.
This happened because restaurants in the Michel Péclard and Florian Weber chains decided to calculate salaries based on turnover: this way, waiters received 7-8% of the total monthly revenue, net of VAT. The average salary ranged from 8,000 to 12,000 Swiss francs per month, despite the contract stipulating a minimum salary of 3,750.
The season was exceptionally favorable, even from a meteorological perspective, which led to these skyrocketing salaries, though not in terms of percentages, where they actually decreased. "Our employees work as if the company didn't belong to us but to them," summarizes Michel Péclard.
However, it wasn't charity that motivated these businessmen. Instead, it was the near impossibility of finding labor for their sixteen establishments, a problem they addressed with an "upselling" strategy. Nevertheless, some warn that the solution of tying salaries to turnover is hardly applicable to the entire restaurant industry in the country, while unions wonder if this approach is an attempt by entrepreneurs to shift business risks onto others. In fact, many colleagues are concerned that this example may distort the market, even though it is already provided for in the national contract.
The general trend is clear, though: salaries in the restaurant industry have increased more than in other sectors, well above the inflation rate. At least according to the Federal Statistical Office, as unions continue to advocate for further increases.
