Section 27C: Qualifying tips, gratuities and service charges, Employment Rights Act 1996

This Part makes provision for—

how employers must deal with qualifying tips, gratuities and service charges, and

the Secretary of State to issue a code of practice to promote fairness and transparency in relation to the distribution of qualifying tips, gratuities and service charges.

In this Part "qualifying tips, gratuities and service charges" means—

employer-received tips, and

worker-received tips which—

are subject to employer control, or

are connected with any other worker-received tips which are subject to employer control.

An "employer-received tip" is an amount paid by a customer of an employer by way of a tip, gratuity or service charge (however described) which—

is received upon its payment or subsequently by the employer or an associated person, or

is received upon its payment by a person under a payment arrangement made between the employer and that person.

A "worker-received tip" is an amount paid by a customer of an employer by way of a tip, gratuity or service charge (however described) which—

is received upon its payment by a worker of the employer, and

is not subsequently received by the employer or an associated person.

For the purposes of subsection (2)(b)—

a worker-received tip is subject to employer control if the employer or an associated person exercises control or significant influence over the allocation of the tip;

a worker-received tip ("tip A") is connected with another worker-received tip which is subject to employer control ("tip B") if—

both tips are paid at, or are otherwise attributable to, the same place of business, and

tip A is paid later in the week, or in the week following the week, in which tip B is paid.

In this section the "amount paid by a customer of an employer by way of a tip, gratuity or service charge" means the actual amount paid by the customer (and accordingly any deductions from the amount paid, whether deducted by the employer or any other person, are to be disregarded when determining the amount paid by the customer).

An amount paid by a customer of an employer is not paid by way of a tip, gratuity or service charge to the extent that the amount represents payment of value added tax.

If an amount is not paid in money, it can be a qualifying tip, gratuity or service charge only if it is paid in the form of a voucher, stamp, token or similar item which is—

of a fixed value expressed in monetary terms, and

capable of being exchanged (whether on its own or together with other vouchers, stamps, tokens or items, and whether immediately or only after a time) for money, goods or services (or for any combination of two or more of those things).

In this section—

"payment arrangement" means an arrangement between an employer and another person under which payments made by customers of the employer are to be received by the other person instead of the employer;
"week" means any period of seven days beginning with a Monday (and ending with a Sunday).

Section 27C: Qualifying tips, gratuities and service charges

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