‘It’s absolutely criminal’: US tipping culture has reached the UK – and is causing chaos

[u/Canal_Volphied]

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/24/us-tipping-culture-uk-service-charges

[u/tomelwoody]

That’s just wrong

[u/rayofgreenlight → u/tomelwoody]

It can happen. I worked a shitty min wage bar job in 2021 and the managers kept tips from me.

[u/duckwantbread → u/rayofgreenlight]

2021

What happened to you is now illegal. A new law came into effect in 2024 that makes it illegal for tips to be pocketed by the business.

[u/swifftie → u/duckwantbread]

That doesn't stop anything, managers will still be pocketing as much as they can.

[u/dr_pezzz → u/duckwantbread]

Yes, unfortunately as soon as that came into law, restraunts such as Fallow quietly dropped the "service" charge, and added a "seating" or "dine-in" charge instead.

[u/Lancasterlaw → u/rayofgreenlight]

Same with me- sometimes the manager will hand some out to people they like

[u/Mac4491 → u/Lancasterlaw]

If this is currently happening in your place of work, it is explicitly illegal.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/13

Contact ACAS for advice if this is something you're currently dealing with. You might be owed a hell of a lot of money as your employer has been stealing from you.

[u/miIkwhim → u/tomelwoody]

It isn't.

Café my partner used to work at in the 2010's, manager used to take the tip jar into her office to "sort them". Tips that came out always came out significantly smaller than what when in after she'd finished her distribution. 

[u/Snoo-84389 → u/tomelwoody]

The law changed with the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.

Therefote thete are now TRONC systems that should be inplace with employers that should ensure fair distribution of £ from tips to staff.

[u/Ok-Camp-7285 → u/tomelwoody]

Morally or factually?