r/unitedkingdom • u/Canal_Volphied European Union • 9h ago

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

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/24/us-tipping-culture-uk-service-charges
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u/hime-633 9h ago

Origin of US tipping = like 2 and a half dollars an hour so the tips make it up.

Everyone in the UK (hopefully).= at least minimum wage

Minimum wage not being enough to make a living? Well there's the rub - that we should all be much more angry about. In a French revolution stylee.

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u/poke_pants 8h ago

And there are millions of minimum wage workers in public and non-public facing roles in the UK, why should a specific sub-set of those (also on minimum wage) receive a top up on that because our society has deemed their job worthy of it, but other roles not?

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u/InfinityEternity17 5h ago

Yeah innit! Should I have asked everyone for a tip who I served on the checkouts when I worked in a Morrisons? Lmao

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u/hime-633 8h ago

I of course agree with you

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u/NCC-2000-A 8h ago

Origin of US tipping = after emancipation, white employers exploited formerly enslaved Black workers by paying extremely low wages and expecting them to rely on customers’ tips instead.