Surcharge at Sushi Jiro at Chadstone Food Court causes a stir on Reddit

The weekend surcharge of a Melbourne food court sushi joint has sparked heated debate online.

A man posted a photo of the shop sign to Reddit, writing: “I saw this in Chadstone. Are surcharges now announced for food courts? I’ve seen them in dine-in restaurants and cafes, but not in a mall.”

The sign explained that the sushi place, identified on the original poster as Sushi Jiro in the Chadstone mall, charged 10 percent on Sundays and 15 percent on public holidays.

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“Buy nothing – save 100 percent,” wrote one person.

Another commented: “Grill charged me a holiday on December 28th. I asked about the holiday. She said “vacation time” but I asked her if she got penalty lessons and she said “no, I don’t think so”. Wtf goes on.”

“Turn around and go away. Sorry not sorry. In a goddamn food court?” wrote another.

But others said the surcharge is acceptable if the grocery store uses it to cover penalty rates to be awarded to employees on Sundays and public holidays.

“It is not unreasonable to require a supplement when holiday wages are paid to employees,” one person said.

“Sure, the 10-15 percent premium hurts, but if it means paying someone a decent wage, I can handle it. At the end of the day they advertise pretty loud so I have the option to walk away if I want to,” wrote another.

Sushi Jiro answers

A Sushi Jiro spokesman confirmed to 7NEWS.com.au that the surcharge will apply across all of its branches and will be introduced on Sundays and bank holidays to ensure staff are paid fairly.

“On holidays, when stores are open, we pay our team members at least 225 percent of their base hourly rate,” the spokesman said.

It is understood that all Sushi Jiro employees are subject to penalties.