Trade union Unite has launched a new campaign to ensure hospitality workers are paid fair wages and receive tips in full.
The ‘fair pay and fair tips’ campaign calls for a new system where workers would receive 100% of tips with no employer deductions.
It would also grant workers fair pay “so they are paid enough that they don’t need to rely on tips to make ends meet”.
The campaign has kicked off ahead of new tipping laws coming into effect on 1 October.
According to Unite, it would also “name and shame” employers who tried to ignore or distort the new legislation, or who attempted to suppress wages to boost their profits.
“Unite is passionate in its support for hospitality workers and it will leave no stone unturned in supporting our members who are facing exploitation by employers,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.
“If employers think they can continue to get away with failing to give workers their tips or docking their pay they need to think again. Unite will use every avenue to ensure our members secure pay and tip justice.”
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024, mandating businesses in England, Scotland and Wales to meet new legal requirements for how they allocate and pay tips, gratuities and service charges to their workers.
“While legislation to regulate tips is very much needed, it doesn’t mean fair tips are guaranteed,” said Unite lead hospitality organiser Bryan Simpson.
Adding on to the existing legislation, the fair pay, fair tips campaign would give hospitality workers “the knowledge and tools to organise their workplace to win the pay and tips they deserve”, he concluded.
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