Tips are no substitute for a real wage – it is time for the practice to end

It is archaic and should have been outlawed decades ago, writes Janet Street-Porter

We haven’t returned to restaurants in the numbers that were expected (iStock/Getty)

The government says all tips must now go to restaurant and bar staff – but have they missed the chance to ban this demeaning practice altogether?

After a delay of five years, a new employment bill will ensure that hospitality staff get 100 per cent of the tips given using credit cards. Previously, only those paid in cash were the property of the recipient. Post-Covid-19 pandemic, cash is used far less and now 80 per cent of all tips are paid using cards. This gives the restaurant or bar owner control of how that money – which can range from 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the total bill – is distributed.

Over the past six years, there have been numerous examples of restaurants creaming off credit card tips, using them to top up the pay of kitchen staff and managers. The industry has claimed that credit cards incur charges and distributing tips among the staff (the tronc system) incurs admin costs. Many say the practice has now stopped, but there’s no doubt that a huge number of restaurants are still diverting the tips – which customers naively believe will go to the person serving them – and using the money to help cash flow, increase profits and pay lower-level staff.