New bill guaranteeing tips for hospitality workers moves closer to becoming law

Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2023

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A bill to ensure hospitality workers and others receive their tips in full has moved closer to becoming law after gaining cross-party support in the House of Commons.

Plans to legislate in this area have been delayed since 2015 when a government consultation found restaurant customers were overwhelmingly in favour of the tips they paid going to the people who served them.

Further research the same year found that many owners of restaurants, bars, and cafes add discretionary service charges to customers’ bills but then keep some of the money themselves.

Under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill, employers would have a legal obligation on employers to ensure all tips, gratuities and service charges are paid to workers in full.

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Employees will be able to request tipping records and take employers to a tribunal if they feel tips have been withheld.

The long-delayed legislation would also enable the government to create a code of practice intended to ensure fairness and transparency in how the money is allocated among staff, and introduce an enforcement mechanism for employees to make complaints and seek redress.

In October 2018, then prime minister Theresa May announced plans to deal with tips but Brexit turmoil prevented the legislation from going ahead.

Similarly Boris Johnson, when he was in the top job, also looked to make the change when in October 2019 the Queen’s Speech committed to bringing forward the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill.

Following the snap general election that year, the Queen’s Speech incorporated the measures into a proposed Employment Bill – but it did not materialise in the last parliamentary session.

The Queen’s Speech in May 2021 did not list an Employment Bill or a specific tips bill.

Law will ‘create confidence for consumers’

Now, Tory MP Virginia Crosbie has sponsored the bill – and on Friday it cleared its final hurdle in the Commons and will progress to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

Speaking during the bill’s third reading on Friday, Ms Crosbie told MPs: “The tipping bill has a simple message: to promote fairness and to promote transparency, to ensure that workers receive the tips they earn.

“This will create a level playing field for businesses who are already passing on tips to workers in a fair and transparent way.

“It will create confidence for consumers, who will know that the full value of the tip that they give will go to the workers.”

She added: “It is estimated that this bill will benefit around one million workers in the sector, with a financial benefit of around £200 each year.

“With the cost of living at the front of a lot of people’s minds, this bill will help those workers who are wrongly not receiving the money that they are due from the tips that they have earned.”

Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said the bill will protect workers from “bad bosses” and give them an avenue to seek remedies.

He said: “Businesses will be assured they are not being undercut by companies where bosses are keeping tips for themselves.

“Consumers will have increased confidence that their tips are going to the workers they are intended for.”

World

Pakistan launches ‘military operation’ against India

Published

9 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Pakistan launches 'military operation' against India

Pakistan has launched attacks on “multiple targets” across India, according to the media wing of Pakistan’s military.

Pakistan said in a statement that retaliatory attacks are underway in response to what it called “continuous provocation” by India, which fired missiles at three air bases inside Pakistan.

“Multiple targets in this operation are being engaged all across India,” the statement from Pakistan Armed Forces (PAF) said.

Pakistan’s military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to strike more than 25 military sites, including airbases and weapons depots in the Indian states of Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan, as well as locations in India-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan’s military posted footage on X showing missiles being fired from what appeared to be a mobile launcher.

The AP news agency also said loud explosions have been heard in India-administered Kashmir, in the disputed region’s two big cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.

Meanwhile, an Indian military source told Reuters that India has launched air operations in Pakistan, although no further details were given.

The operations mark the latest escalation in a conflict between the two nuclear-armed rivals, triggered by a deadly attack last month in India-administered Kashmir.

Most of the 26 civilians killed were Hindu Indian tourists. India blames Pakistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Command Authority, the body which takes security decisions, including those related to the country’s nuclear arsenal.

State-run Pakistan television said three air bases were struck by India on Friday, although Pakistan insisted most of the missiles had been intercepted.

Despite the military offensive, PAF also posted a message on X in what appeared to represent an opportunity to de-escalate the situation.

“Now that a response has been given we hope the neighbour [India] will move to dialogue and diplomacy like Civilized Nations,” it said.

In recent days, both countries have launched a series of missile and drone strikes, although the scale and impact have been consistently questioned by each other.

On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.

On Thursday, India claimed to have repelled drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu in India-administered Kashmir. Meanwhile, India claimed it struck Pakistan’s air defence systems and radars close to the city of Lahore.

The Indian army said on Friday that Pakistan fired about 300 to 400 drones, targeting military installations along the western borders – a claim strongly denied by Pakistan.

The G7 group of advanced economies, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and Britain, urged maximum restraint from both India and Pakistan.

“We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome,” a statement issued on Friday said.

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World

European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia

Published

9 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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European leaders to meet in Ukraine for 'coalition of the willing' talks - and issue call to Russia

Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.

The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.

Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.

“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.

But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.

“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.

“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”

The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.

They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.

This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.

World

Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say

Published

15 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.

The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.

Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.

An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.

It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.

On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.

The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.

The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.

Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.

India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.