Our View: Holiday surcharge fair play

Surcharges imposed by some cafes and restaurants on public holidays are something we will have to learn to live with, but we do have a choice - we can choose not to go to places that impose the charge.
In Rotorua, it appears most eateries are choosing not to impose a surcharge on their customers this Easter - certainly most of those spoken to by this newspaper in the lead-up to the long weekend.
Under the Holidays Act 2003, employees have to be paid time-and-a-half and get time off in lieu when they work on a public holiday.
To compensate, some restaurants and cafes impose a surcharge at these times and they're entitled to do so. In fact, they can impose a surcharge on any day they have to pay staff more than their normal rate.
According to reports from the Western Bay of Plenty, many eateries there aren't adding a surcharge over Easter and increasing numbers of cafes and restaurants around the country are choosing not to impose the extra charges because of a public backlash and increased competition.
They figure they'll get more business if they don't charge extra and no doubt hope they get business increases sufficiently to compensate for their additional staffing costs.
Many members of the public consider the surcharge a rip off, but some businesses feel they have to recover the extra costs they incur by being open on a public holiday.
It's a bit of a catch-22 for businesses. They are under pressure to be open, but it costs them more to be open and then they come under fire if they add a surcharge.
Not everyone is against the surcharge, though. There are plenty of people who accept it as "one of those things" and who will go to wherever they choose and pay the extra so they can enjoy a meal at the restaurant of their choice.
Some might say the extra staff costs have been around for some time and businesses should be factoring it into their annual budgets, but it is quite a considerable extra expense - businesses are essentially paying staff two-and-a-half times what they usually get for working one shift.
The profit margins for some of these eateries would be so slim it would be very hard for them to absorb the extra costs. Some must be cutting it pretty fine to keep prices at a level people can afford or are willing to pay.
Given that many businesses are choosing not to charge customers extra this Easter, it's up to the community to make it worth their while and, if it isn't and they subsequently choose not to open on the next public holiday, not to criticise them for doing so.