said. The chain, which sells 29m pizzas a year through its UK restaurants, denied that it profits from the admin fee. But other restaurant groups do not deduct an admin fee from tips. Wagamama, Pizza Hut and TGI Friday all take nothing. The Restaurant Group, which owns Frankie & Benny’s, Chiquitos and Garfunkels, used to charge 10% but dropped this policy several years ago. Unite recently targeted ten PizzaExpress restaurants in south London, distributing leaflets to customers who were “shocked and disgusted” by the practice. PizzaExpress says the charge is mentioned in small print at the bottom of its menus but the employee who wrote to Unite said that, when she mentioned the charge to customers, it always came as a surprise. Most would then pay the tip in cash. Almost 6,000 people have so far signed Unite’s online petition. One waiter, who doesn’t work for PizzaExpress but has worked for 11 years for another restaurant chain, said that at least a third of his income is from tips. He doesn’t want to be identified for fear of reprisals. “I work in a busy London branch and, on an average night, I’ll serve 150 people and take home £40 to £50 in tips,” he says. “That might sound like a lot but that money is crucial to me as my basic pay is only £6.50 an hour.” Conservative MP Andrew Percy, who has called for a change in the law that would give