When I first worked in London in the mid 90’s, my main job was at a restaurant on Sloane Square, the old Oriel. We were paid £20 per 8 hour shift but we made tips (which were not included in the bill, but were discretionary) from our own sections, which we shared with the bar staff, the expediter and the hostess. The more shifts you worked each week, or the busier sections, the more money you generally made. So I worked six days per week, or double shifts. Work harder, make more, simple. But it had to be done to survive.
When my wife and I came back in 2005, my first jobs while looking for full time employment were through hospitality agencies as a waiter where I was paid the minimum wage of £5.05 per hour. So I worked for three different agencies, which of course meant I did not get the tax free threshold on the second and third employers. That was hard. Travelling all over London to jobs and earning take home about £180 per week. We had so little money in those early days that we used to go to Cafe Nero and buy one coffee to share between us. So I sort of know what it’s like to be in London on minimum wage.
When I was employed as staffing manager at Marylebone Cricket Club, they paid just above the minimum. The pressure was on to pay the least possible, even though the pressure was also on to recruit the best possible skilled staff to work in situations such as the corporate boxes, serving the elite of the cricket, corporate and entertainment worlds.