Lucas is just one top Melbourne restaurateur who has recently introduced a Sunday surcharge to diners in order to cover spiralling costs. Chris Lucas, owner of Melbourne restaurant Chin Chin. Credit:Jessica Dale The hikes comes as restaurants were carved out of the Fair Work Commission's cut to Sunday penalty rates leaving the hospitality sector high and dry. "We didn't do this in response to the Fair Work Commission," Lucas says. "We made the decision many months ago and we have been considering this for quite some time. It just got to the point when we couldn't afford to continue to operate on Sundays and public holidays, we were left with no choice." Lucas employs about 500 people across his restaurants and says he does "thousands" of covers on a Sunday, which is one of his busiest days.

"[Opening on a Sunday] was uneconomic for years, ever since the award system got rejigged, we just absorbed it for many years and with all the rising costs it became unsustainable," he says. Chin Chin on Flinders Lane. Credit:Mike Baker Lucas says there are "absolutely" going to be more restaurants introducing Sunday surcharges across Melbourne bringing the restaurant industry into line with Sydney where surcharges are more common. It's a business move Victor Liong has also imposed a 15 per cent surcharge on Sundays at his restaurant Lee Ho Fook to cover staffing costs.

Lee Ho Fook business partners David Mackintosh and Victor Liong have introduced a 15 per cent surcharge on Sundays. Credit:Pat Scala "We want to play ball and have everyone paid what they have to be paid," he says. "If I have to put a surcharge on to stay open on a Sunday so be it." Liong says staff in his restaurant are paid "above and beyond" award rates and opening on a Sunday has been "terrible" for his business. Liong says he is running a business first at Lee Ho Fook. Credit:Kristoffer Paulsen It just got to the point when we couldn't afford to continue to operate on Sundays and public holidays, we were left with no choice. Chris Lucas

"My accountant told me if I want to open Sundays I have to do something," he says. "I'm a business before I'm a restaurant. I didn't just go 'Hey let's make another 15 per cent on a Sunday,' I just went 'this is what it's going to cost to open'. I will just keep my head above water with this." The Sunday surcharge has been running for a month now and Liong says he hasn't received any complaints. "To be honest the clientele have just accepted the fact that it's Melbourne, it's Sunday. It is what it is." Liong says he has been upfront about the surcharge. "We are not hiding it," he says. "It's a business decision, not an ego move."

Liong employs just under 30 people and says hospitality is a hard industry to make money in once wages are taken into account. "Everyone thinks 'You're a restauranteur, you're a millionaire'. Guess what, you're not. I owe the bank about $1 million. I will be paying this off well into my 40s don't worry." Shutting the doors The alternative for restaurants is to shut the doors on Sunday. Thanh Do, the owner of Crackling Media, says some of his digital marketing and hospitality consultancy's clients don't open on Sundays rather than impose a surcharge.

"Most people don't like a surcharge," he says. "Other services don't charge a surcharge on weekends such as hairdressers, so why is food an exception is the common thinking." John Hart, chief executive of Restaurant and Catering Australia, says restaurants have had to act after the Fair Work Commission carved the restaurant industry out of its rate cut. "There was no relief for the restaurant sector," he says. "Perhaps businesses were holding back on that decision in deciding whether to surcharge or not and now they have come out of the block." Hart says about 15 per cent of restaurants impose a Sunday surcharge. "It's not a huge number, but it is rising," he says. "There is still a very high cost base for Sunday penalty rates and even a surcharge of 40 to 50 per cent would not cover the additional cost of employing staff on a Sunday."

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