Thomas . King cuts time off for servers

The poor economy has forced Lexington-based Thomas King, which operates nearly a hundred Applebee’s and Carino’s Italian Grill restaurants, to eliminate paid time off for the hourly workers at its restaurants.

CEO Mike Scanlon said the company had offered the benefit to hourly workers at its restaurants for the past 15 years and was one of very few restaurant companies to do so. However, beginning about seven years ago, the company gave workers the options of taking a cash payout or the time off. Eighty percent, he said, chose to take the cash since restaurant hours are generally flexible anyway.

That ran contrary, though, to the company’s intention, which was that “vacation is about getting a rest and recharging,” he said.

With sales down due to the recession, Thomas King had to look to reduce expenses, Scanlon said. “People still come to see us,” he said. “They just don’t come as often, and they don’t eat as much.”

Scanlon said the move to eliminate paid time off, which only affects employees at the restaurants, helped the company keep its 401(k) plan unchanged, and “we thought it was far more important to protect the 401(k).”
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