Good practice principles – tips, service charges and troncs

09/01/2019

This guide is written for businesses in the hospitality sector whose customers choose to make payments of tips, gratuities and discretionary service charges. It is also intended to be an explanation of best practice for hospitality businesses, their employees and customers.

The principles outlined in this guide promote transparency, understanding and good practice within the hospitality sector for the treatment of discretionary and voluntary payments that customers may make. They reflect the policy objectives set out in the Government’s 2016 consultation into tips, gratuities and services charges as well as how they can be distributed legally, fairly transparently and ethically.

How gratuities are paid by customers, handled by a business, divided between the team, and paid to individual staff members will vary from business to business. This guidance is not intended to micro-manage or be prescriptive, but instead to offer a set of principles and standards businesses can use to help them achieve a ‘best practice’ approach.