Government delays changes to tipping law

The government has announced it has pushed back the introduction of a law which would prevent restaurant owners from pocketing their staff’s tips, three years after a change was suggested.

In 2016, a new legislation was promised following a consultation and at the 2018 Conservative party conference, Theresa May said amendments would be introduced “as soon as parliamentary time allows”.

However, in the House of Commons on Tuesday (12 February), business minister Kelly Tolhurst said the change would not be made until September when the next session of Parliament begins.

In response to Labour MP Stephanie Peacock who asked about the new legislation, Tolhurst said: “The Honourable Lady is quite right, we announced in October of last year that we would bring forward legislation in the next session [on] tipping and we are committed to doing that, it’s this government who’s brought it forward.”

The introduction of a new law was first suggested after a number of restaurant chains were criticised for deducting an 8% admin fee on staff tips paid on credit card in 2015. Pizza Express and Las Iguanas were among some of the chains found to conduct the practice but have since scrapped the charges.