Motion
Moved by
That the Bill do now pass.
(Con)
My Lords, this is a very simple Bill and the issue is one of
fairness. I am very keen that there should be no extra and
unnecessary regulation; the chances of extra bureaucracy are
negligible. Similarly, we do not need to worry in any way about
the likelihood of great costs, as they are also negligible.
Most businesses already allocate tips fairly to their staff, but,
regrettably, a minority have not done so. That gives the staff,
who are often among the least well-paid in the hospitality
sector—waiters, for instance, and others, stretching beyond the
hospitality sector, but in particular waiters—the opportunity to
insist that they are given the service charge that many of us in
restaurants pay whenever we go to a restaurant, so they get the
tips rather than the money going to the profits of perhaps a big
company. This does not happen that much but does happen a bit,
and we need to make sure it does not happen at all. I beg to move
that this Bill do now pass.
(Lab)
My Lords, I start by congratulating the noble Lord, , on sponsoring this important
Bill, as he has outlined. I also thank , the Member for
Parliament, for stepping in to take up the discussions in the
other place. As has been said, this is indeed an important issue;
the Bill will support some of the lowest-paid workers across the
country, and I am pleased to recognise the cross-party support it
has received during its passage.
I will also reflect the comments my noble friend Lady Chapman
made at Second Reading. This is a very welcome Bill; it may not
deal with absolutely everything on the topic, but when the
Government are supporting a sensible agreement, we should
acknowledge that. We do recognise that there are probably some
more details that need to be ironed out to ensure that the intent
of the Bill is carried forward. I also add my thanks to everyone,
including officials, who has supported its passage in both
Houses.
(LD)
My Lords, I do not always find myself in agreement with the noble
Lord, , but in this case I give him
three cheers. He is absolutely right: it has been totally unfair
that people have not received the tips they should have. In the
past, I have myself asked the question of whether the 10% was
going to go to all the staff and, when told that it was not, I
refused to pay it and left cash on the table for the waiter. That
is one way of dealing with it. The Bill of the noble Lord, , is another, and I
congratulate him and support it.
The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade ( of Lainston) (Con)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for bringing the Employment
(Allocation of Tips) Bill through the House. I agree with him on
many things, and particularly on this. I also thank noble Lords
from across the House, particularly the noble Baronesses, Lady
Blake and Lady Chapman, who spoke in recent debates, for their
valuable contributions on the Bill during its passage.
The Government are very pleased to support this important Bill,
which deals with tips, gratuities and service charges, which I
will subsequently refer to as “tips”. The measures in the Bill
will protect millions of workers. We believe that tips should be
passed on in full and without deduction to workers. Indeed, many
across this House and across the country would regard that as
common sense. Tips left by customers are intended to reward the
hard work and excellent service of staff rather than topping up
the revenue of businesses. The Government are therefore pleased
to support the changes made through this legislation and to hear
support for it across this House.
I will restate what these measures will do once legislative
passage is secured, and what they will not do. Employers will be
prevented from making any deductions when distributing tips to
their employees, with the exception of those already required or
permitted—for example, by tax law. Existing legislation already
sets out how tips should be treated for the purposes of tax and
national insurance, as the requirements differ depending on
whether the payments are made by cash or card and on whether tips
are paid directly to workers or are processed and distributed by
the business or an independent tronc. No changes are proposed to
these tax laws. The majority of businesses, those who already do
the right thing in passing on tips in full to their employees,
will be largely unaffected. The Bill will ensure a level playing
field.
On the statutory code of practice on tipping, when considering
the distribution of tips in their organisation, employers will be
required to have regard to the statutory code of practice, which
will promote fairness and transparency in relation to the
distribution of qualifying tips that will include various example
scenarios. Employment tribunals will also be required to have
regard to the code of practice where relevant in the event that a
worker takes a claim against their employer on the grounds of
unfair or improper tipping policy or procedure.
We expect that these tipping measures and the code of practice
will come into force about a year after Royal Assent is granted
to the Bill. This will ensure time for adequate stakeholder
input, including a full consultation period, before the final
version is brought before both Houses of Parliament for approval.
I stress that, from conversations we have had with the industry,
it is important that the variabilities to ensure fairness are
properly considered, so a proper consultation period is necessary
and right.
To conclude, bringing forward this new law will protect millions
of workers, among them many of the lowest paid, and give them an
avenue to seek remedies. Consumers will be able to rest assured
that the tips they leave are going, as intended, to reward the
good service and hard work of staff, rather than boosting the
revenues of businesses. Additionally, businesses that are already
doing the right thing—passing on tips to workers in full without
deduction—will be able to be confident that they are not at risk
of being undercut by their less reputable competitors.
The Government are pleased to support these new measures and have
been glad to see the level of support for them across both Houses
during the passage of this Bill. The Government are committed to
fairness and to providing opportunities for hard-working people,
which is exactly why we are supporting multiple pieces of
employment regulation, including this one, on tipping.
Ultimately, this Bill is about granting fairness to service
workers, who for too long have not had protection from bosses
taking tips, and about making sure that customers’ intentions to
recognise good service are met. I am personally very pleased to
support these new rules. I again thank my noble friend for his sponsorship of the
Bill as it has moved through the House. I also thank my
honourable friends and for their sponsorship in
the other place and their hard work in this area.
(Con)
My Lords, it is nice not to be controversial for a change and to
have the agreement of the Liberal Democrats. I thank the noble
Baroness, Lady Walmsley—I am not sure if it is a compliment or
not, but never mind. I am delighted that there is no opposition.
It is a very straightforward Bill, the Government support it and
I know of nobody who does not. I, too, thank the officials who
have worked on this, the Minister, those who have supported it
from the other side of the House and my honourable friends and in the other place.
Frankly, I do not have anything else to say, for a change. I beg
to move that this Bill do now pass.
Bill passed.
