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New tipping law comes into force

Busi­ness­es have been banned from with­hold­ing tips or ser­vice charges from their staff under new rules that came into force on 1 Octo­ber.

All tips, whether in cash or by card, must now be shared between work­ers by law in Britain, with mil­lions of work­ers such as those work­ing for cafes, pubs, restau­rants, taxi com­pa­nies and hair­dressers most like­ly to ben­e­fit.

If an employ­er breaks the law and retains tips, a work­er will be able to bring a claim to an employ­ment tri­bunal.

The law means tips must be passed to employ­ees by the end of the fol­low­ing month from when they were received.

The Depart­ment for Busi­ness and Trade has pre­dict­ed the new law will mean a fur­ther £200 mil­lion will be received by work­ers rather than their employ­ers.

Min­is­ter for Employ­ment Rights Justin Mad­ders said: 

‘When you tip some­one for good ser­vice, you expect them to keep all their tip. They did the work — they deserve the reward.

‘This is just the first step of many in pro­tect­ing work­ers and plac­ing them at the heart of our econ­o­my. We will be intro­duc­ing fur­ther mea­sures on tip­ping to ensure work­ers get their fair share of tips.

‘Britain’s out­dat­ed employ­ment laws require an urgent update. This Gov­ern­ment will ensure they are fit for the mod­ern econ­o­my and deliv­er on our plan to Make Work Pay.’

Inter­net link: GOV.UK