Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 will now come into force on 1st October 2024, rather than 1st July 2024 as originally proposed
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 was expected to come into force on 1st July 2024 but the Government has now announced that this will be delayed until 1st October 2024. Many hospitality workers rely on tips to top up their pay and are often left without any effective recourse if businesses don’t pass on service charges from customers to their staff.
Under the Act, it will be unlawful for employers to withhold tips from staff, ensuring that employees receive all the tips that they earn. Additionally, employers of businesses, where tips are routine, are also required to have a tipping policy in place. Employees will have a new right to request a copy of their tipping record, in order to enable them to bring a claim to Employment Tribunal where they believe they are not receiving tips they should be.
A new statutory Code of Practice has been published and employers are expected to follow its guidelines when distributing tips, when reviewing their current processes, and when putting any new policies in place. The final draft version of this new statutory Code can be accessed here.
This overhaul of tipping practices is set to benefit more than 2 million UK workers across the hospitality, leisure and services sectors with the aim of easing cost of living pressures and give them peace of mind that they will keep their earned money.[1]
Employers in the hospitality, leisure and services sectors where tips are the norm should review their current processes and look at getting policies and procedures in place to stay on the right side of the new tipping laws!
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[1] Millions to take home more cash as new law on Tipping passes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
