London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 30, 2025

Keeping tips from workers could be illegal under new law

Keeping tips from workers could be illegal under new law

Employers not paying workers their tips in their entirety, without deductions, may soon become illegal.

A bill sponsored by the Conservative MP for Ynys Môn, Virginia Crosbie, would also introduce an obligation to allocate tips fairly among workers.

The UK government is backing the move and said it would benefit more than two million workers.

The trade union Unite said it would reserve judgement until "potential loopholes" in the bill were closed.

Kristian Cuffin, 30, who owns the Cuffed In Coffee cafe in Holyhead, in Ms Crosbie's constituency, said he could not imagine not already giving his staff the entirety of their tips.

"That's what they're intended for," he said.

Kristian Cuffin said all staff work equal hours and so tips at Cuffed In Coffee are divided equally.


All tips at Mr Cuffin's cafe are split evenly among staff each week, with electronic tips logged in a report at the end of each day.

"For us, I can imagine it's a lot easier because we all work fairly even hours. If somebody is working 40 hours and someone's only working five, then to distribute it evenly might not work.

"I suppose it depends on your business. But for us, it's quite a simple process," he added.

Ms Crosbie took over responsibility for the bill when Dean Russell, the backbench MP who introduced it, became a minister.

She acknowledged that most employers were already "doing the right thing," but said the bill would help "create a level playing field".

Under the law, employees would also be given the right to view their employer's tipping record.

"It means that when somebody is in a restaurant or they're in a beauty bar or a taxi, and they pay a tip on their credit card, that this tip will go to the person that actually served them or helped them," she said.

Virginia Crosbie says the bill will help "create a level playing field"


Currently, businesses who receive tips by card have the choice of whether to keep it or pass it on to workers. Cash tips, on the other hand, are legally the property of staff.

In 2021 the UK government said 80% of all tipping now happened by card and suggested this had made it easier for businesses to keep the funds.

Many of the jobs in the MP's constituency are in hospitality and tourism and she has been holding listening events with business owners and workers to help draw up a tipping code of conduct.

Rhys Taylor-Roberts, 20, who is one of six employees at Cuffed by Coffee, said he "100%" thinks the bill would be good news.

"It increases your wage, it gives you more motivation to have better customer service, it's appreciation that's being shown for your craft," he said.

Rhys Taylor-Roberts said tips act as a "top-up, a little help"


"A few pounds does make a difference, it pays for the little things so that you can save for the big things. Whether it's dinner or you're going to get a new haircut. It's like a top-up, a little help," he added.

Unite has previously said it was "not confident" the measures would address poor practices.

Its hospitality spokesman Dave Turnbull said it has now secured a commitment that "potential loopholes" would be closed.

He added that the union would reserve its judgement until these changes "see the light of day".

The UK government first announced plans to ensure all tips go to workers in 2018, but these were never passed into law.

A UK government official said: "The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill, backed by the government, will ensure that all tips go to staff by making it unlawful to hold back service charges from employees."

"More than two million UK workers will benefit, helping ease pressures caused by increases in the cost of living."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
×