Despite some preconceived notions, Europe is not a monolithic culture (much like the continent where you live isn’t one either), so tipping customs may vary from one country to another. Nonetheless, there are a few things you can do to try and sort it out. In Belgium, where I live, there are two opposing views regarding tipping that more or less summarise the situation: (1) since the staff are on fixed wages, there’s no need to tip them; you wouldn’t tip your accountant, and (2) if you liked the service, you should tip to show appreciation as those wages aren’t all that great. Every time the topic pops up on Reddit (which happens surprisingly often), the whole debate boils down to those two arguments, even when actual, bona fide service employees take the time to explain why even though there is no real tipping culture in Europe compared to the U.S., it is perfectly ok, and even appreciated, to tip in Europe.
What’s the situation?
Both views are correct. In many European countries, waiters are in fact paid fixed wages as they are employees, and those wages are somewhat higher than the less-than-minimum wages you’d find in the U.S. It is the reason why you can see older, more experienced waiters in continental Europe as they do not have to leave their job for better-paying positions. Plus, if you have a closer look at the bottom of your receipt, you’ll see a legal mention stating that the service is included.
Practically, in Brussels for example, the average gross salary of a waiter (as of 2022) is around €2,090 (±$2,200/£1,800) per month, while it is €1,740 (±$1,820/£1,500) in Paris and €1,250 (±$1,300/£1,170) in Madrid. By ways of comparison, the average monthly salary of a post office employee in Belgium is €1,926 (±$2,010/£1,200) and the minimum wage is €1,842 (±$1,920/£1,580) while it is €1,603 (±$1,675/£1,380) in France and €1,000 (±$1,040/£860).
You also have to factor in the maximum number of hours in the week during which you are legally allowed to work, which is 35 in France, 38 in Belgium, and 40 in Spain; after that, your employer has to pay your overtime or give you half-days or days off as a means of compensation.
This means, for our American friends, that the gross hourly wages of a Brussels waiter (based on a four-week month) are €13.75/h (±$14.40/£11.82), €12.43/h in Paris (±$12.98/£10.68), and €7.81/h in Madrid (±$8.16/£6.71). The point of this post is not to lecture you on the intricacies of salaries and working hours in Europe, but you can clearly see that there’s a huge difference between the hourly salary of a waiter in Brussels and that of a waiter in Madrid (57%) which both are capital cities located in Western Europe and less than 1.320 km (820 mi) apart1It is basically a shorter distance than between Boston and Chicago, for example.—so imagine the difference between, say, Luxemburg and Albania, or between a small village in Bulgaria and a capital in the Nordic countries.
All this, of course, is pure theory. The big aspect of being a waiter that this reasoning overlooks lies with the undeclared portion of the work. In Belgium, many waiters only officially work part-time while in actuality, they work more than the prescribed 38h/week. This can be explained by the high statutory social security contributions, which are 25% in the commercial sector in Belgium, plus 1.69% for the unemployment fund in companies with fewer than 10 employees. For example, a waiter who works in Brussels costs their employer €2.652 per month, which is almost €600 more than their gross salary. On top of that, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve only been talking about gross salaries so far, so clearly we need to subtract the personal tax income (€232), the employee’s contribution to social security (€159) and the special contribution (€11).
In the end, the waiter is taking €1,688 home per month. Some employers, and some employees too, think that this difference between the cost of labour and the actual wages is too high, and they try to circumvent it to maximise their profits, which is easier in sectors where a large portion of the transactions are made in cash. Long story short, there’s no actual way to know how much a waiter makes in Brussels unless you ask them (which we don’t, because we’re Belgians and it is considered very rude), but you can bet that there’s a fair part of their wages that’s undeclared, untaxed, and way over the maximum working hours allowed.
And it is not an easy job. European customers tend to spend more time at the restaurant or at the café than their American or British counterparts, which always comes as a bit of a culture shock on both parts. I regularly have no less than three parties of English-speaking tourists be seated, have dinner, and leave while I’m still trying to decide between the tarte tatin and the pavlova for my dessert. We just love to sit there for hours, have endless conversations, make small talk with the waiters and the people at the neighbouring tables and have just one more drink for the road—oh, and maybe another coffee, while we’re at it. All that translates into longer hours for the waiters.
Additionally, in tourist places, waiters have to be bilingual at the very least and speak English on top of their mother tongue. In Brussels, your average waiter speaks Dutch and French, which are the two more widespread languages of our three official languages, plus English to talk with the tourists, and sometimes German too, our third official language. I saw a waiter in San Marino switch flawlessly from Italian to French to English to Russian to German in the course of one lunch. So, while some of you won’t even learn how to say “Hello” or “please” in the local language, your waiter could probably tell you everything there is to know about the place you’re visiting in your own mother tongue.
Do I need to tip in Europe?
This is all very well, you’ll say, but in the end, should I tip at a restaurant in Europe? Should I tip the waiter at the café? And if so, how much do I tip? Bloody Europeans!
Well. I’m going to give you my opinion on this complicated matter. But you should probably know that I’m a compulsive tipper, at least in the European sense of the expression. My strategy is this:
At the café/bar
If I’m just having coffee or drinks, I’ll tip whatever minimal change remains after I’ve paid the cheque. Let me explain. If I’m out with a friend and we both had fancy coffees of the latte macchiato persuasion at a café terrace, the bill will come out at around €8.80. I’ll pay with a €10 banknote. The waiter will bring me back my change, which will amount to €1.20. That is his tip. I’ll either tell them that they can keep it, or leave it on the table when I go. If I have a €20 banknote, I’ll just pocket the €10 they’ll bring me back and still leave the coins. If you’re alone and ordered the same fancy coffee for €4.40, then the waiter gets €0.60 as a tip as it makes a total of €5, the closest banknote in value.
This only works if you have cash. For the reasons I’ve explained above, you’ll sometimes find places that do not accept card payments. You’ll then have to schlep off to the closest cash machine and withdraw some money in order to pay the cheque. In places that do accept debit/credit cards, I ask the waiter whether I can add the tip to the due amount AND whether they’ll actually get the tip (sometimes the boss keeps the tips, which is much easier to do with card payments). A couple of years ago, waiters were surprised when I asked that latter question, but it seems to have been normalised since. In the cases where card tipping is accepted, I’ll just leave the same amount as I would if I paid in cash (see the previous paragraph).
At the restaurant/Brasserie
For some reason, the restaurant/brasserie situation is a little more complex than the café/bar. Most older people (think early boomers) do not tip at the restaurant unless they’re part of the usual crowd that’s there every week. The rest of us have different approaches. Personally, I tip in the following circumstances:
- I’m a regular there (aka “the boomer approach)
- The service was good (I’m not saying “great” here; “good” is enough)
- I plan to come back soon
- I’ve seen the waiter have a hard time with other tables
- I’ve been a “difficult” customer myself (for example, I didn’t know what I wanted for dessert and the waiter had to come to our table twice before I finally decided on the pavlova)
- It’s close to Christmas or a local celebration
- I’ve been there for literal hours
Needless to say, I more or less always find an excuse to tip at the restaurant, and you should too.
As to how much you should tip, it depends on the total of your cheque and on your level of satisfaction. The percentage-based tipping obligation is not enforced with the same enthusiasm as it is in other countries, but my rule of thumb is that if the bill is up to €100, I’ll leave a fiver for an average service, and €10 for an outstanding one. Then we work in increments as the bill increases, and you definitely cannot go wrong with a 10-20% tip, depending on the quality of the service.
The only exception to this rule is the fancy-schmancy restaurant with heavy white tablecloths, linen napkins, over two wine glasses per person on the table, and wine starting at €50 per bottle. In those kinds of places, the waiters will feel terribly insulted if you even try to give them a tip. Do not in any case try to slip them a banknote while they’re attending to your cheque. It is regarded as rude. Leaving the tip on the table, in a discreet fashion (under a napkin with just one corner of the banknote visible,2Do make it visible though, lest it be thrown into the laundry basket with the napkin. for example) is perfectly acceptable, and that’s the method I recommend.
At the fast-food
I don’t tip at fast-food joints because it is simply not done, and I have never seen anybody do it in Belgium. It would come off as rather weird, though I do believe that fast-food employees probably need the tips more than anybody else. But then again I was once tipped when I worked as a cashier at an appliance store, and it broke my brain for a good three minutes and I still don’t know what to think of it twenty years later.
TL;DR
Though tipping culture varies from one European country to the other, leave your change if you’re having drinks, and leave a 10-20% tip at the restaurant—more if you really enjoyed the service. Leave nothing if your waiter has actually gone out of their way to make you feel miserable, which hardly ever happens. In all cases, don’t be an arsehole.
All texts and pictures ©Ms. Unexpected.
- 1It is basically a shorter distance than between Boston and Chicago, for example.
- 2Do make it visible though, lest it be thrown into the laundry basket with the napkin.