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New law will ban restaurants and pubs from withholding tips from staff, says Varadkar

The Government is set to introduce legislation that will give legal protection to workers’ tips.

THE GOVERNMENT IS set to introduce legislation that will give improved legal protection to workers’ tips.

Leo Varadkar said today that the Cabinet had given approval to proposed legislation that would stop tips being used by employers to partly cover wages.

This law should be in place for next year, he said.

The Tanaiste admitted that plans to address the issue had been interrupted by both the calling of a general election in early 2020 and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said that now was a good time to better regulate tipping in the hospitality industry and “reignite” the legislation.

“The pandemic has changed things.

“More and more people are paying electronically,” he told reporters.

“If you pay the minimum wage, you can’t use tips to cover part of that.

“But if for example, you pay 13 or 14 euros an hour, you can use tips as part of that hourly payment.

“That won’t be allowed anymore.”

“Restaurants will have to inform customers what their tips policy is.

“Where tips are paid in electronic form, that there’s legal obligation on the employer to make sure that that money goes to the workers is distributed in a fair and equitable manner.

“What this is all about is protecting the pay that workers get, that you can’t use tips to make your minimum pay rates, any pay rate for that matter.”

Varadkar said that there was “some evidence” that tipping was being abused by some employers.

“We don’t think it’s widespread.

“But there is some evidence of some businesses not passing on tips to workers and very strong evidence that the public aren’t clear as to what happens.”

He described it as a “small piece of legislation, but an important one”.

Varadkar said that the Cabinet had also backed a proposal to draft legislation to ensure that the time spent on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will count towards a redundancy lump sum for workers.

He also said that Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe had guaranteed that the lump sum would not be taxed.

That legislation, Varadkar said, would be ready by the end of the year.

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    Mute JillyBean
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    Oct 27th 2021, 5:52 PM

    It’s an absolutely deplorable act regardless. The staff are the ones who keep the ship sailing and more than deserve the tips and there shouldn’t be a thing given to the management, I say that as a manager myself.

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    Mute Proudly Italian
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    Oct 27th 2021, 5:52 PM

    The tip is my personal reward to the waiter, and make sure I’ll get best service next times. I don’t see why it has ever need to be part of the wages or even shared with the staff. Otherwise, I’d rather not leave anything.

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    Mute Fr. Fintan Stack
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:00 PM

    @Proudly Italian: not part of their wages, I totally agree. But most places divide the tips up with the “backroom” staff. A waiter may be excellent but he/she is only as good as the support they get from the other staff. It’s a team effort. So absolutely divide the tips up.

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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:22 PM

    @Fr. Fintan Stack: Understand where you’re coming from but if i got great food but bad service,I probably wouldn’t tip,the waiter is the reason I tip or don’t tip.

    52
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    Mute Fr. Fintan Stack
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:33 PM

    @Daniel Roche: So if you got great service but dirty plates and bad food you would tip?

    41
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    Mute meg
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:02 PM

    @Proudly Italian: ‘Next time’ or getting better service would never even cross my mind when tipping. Wouldn’t expect to get better service than anyone, tipping for me is a token for what’s generally a difficult job on not so good wages. If the service was amazing then sure, might give more of a tip than usual but I would find it strange if they were giving me and my party better service than anyone else, be that before tip or after getting a tip the last time!

    18
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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:09 PM

    @Fr. Fintan Stack: yes if I got bad food but the waiter was lovely,I would and have tip,that’s me.

    13
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    Mute Niall O
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    Oct 27th 2021, 10:02 PM

    @Proudly Italian: I usually try and tip directly in cash, separate to paying the bill but only if the staff were in anyway good, which they generally are.

    12
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    Mute Odd Socks
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    Oct 28th 2021, 5:30 AM

    @Proudly Italian: it should be shared with all staff. Because its not just the waiter that make a good restaurant experience. Lots of people working in the background add to your experience also. Kitchen, bar, cleaner, porters,

    9
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    Mute Eoin Roche
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    Oct 27th 2021, 5:57 PM

    Best of luck enforcing it. All customers can do is give the tip, in cash, into the paw of the person who gave you good service. Never leave a tip on your card payment either, they are exploited big time.

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    Mute Aurelio Na Fodhla
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    Oct 27th 2021, 5:53 PM

    Way overdue is an understatement.

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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:22 PM

    @Aurelio Na Fodhla: Needs to happen world wide.

    21
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    Mute lelookcoco
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:21 PM

    @Daniel Roche: Ok. Let’s see what the government can do on that one for you. Bring it up at the UN maybe?

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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:27 PM

    @lelookcoco: Okay can I get the government yo ask the the UN for Irish independence too and maybe Scottish as well,maybe I can get the government to ask the UN to ask you why your response makes no sense.I only said that it should be world wide not asking our government to tell the world.

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    Mute Aurelio Na Fodhla
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:02 PM

    @Daniel Roche: let other countries look after themselves. We have enough to be dealing with.

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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Oct 28th 2021, 5:26 AM

    @Aurelio Na Fodhla: I’m not asking Ireland to tell other countries to do anything.

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    Mute Brian Tierney
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:14 PM

    Good potential with this bill. But will probably be enacted all wrong. Should be fairly split between Back-of-House staff also. A lot of work into the food and drink, those who clean/polish the plates/glassware, the linen, cleaning floors, windows, toilets. None of this should be the waiters job as they are there to provide service, but without those working in the background, your waiter/waitress wouldn’t have the time to earn “their” tips

    65
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    Mute Anne Warren
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:15 PM

    pay the staff a proper wage so there is no need for tipping . It’s demeaning for both the giver and the receiver

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    Mute Dermot Sexton
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:27 PM

    @Anne Warren: its not demeaning in any way. I worked in bars for years and appreciated a tip. I now tip to others who provide a good serive. It is in no way demeaning to either party, but should never be a given, like the attitude they have in the U.S.

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    Mute Gavin Kearney
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:28 PM

    @Anne Warren: having ran restaurants for years Anne, I can tell you, it’s is EXTREMELY difficult to turn a profit in a restaurant. There is just too many overheads… I think idea of taking staff tips to subsidise wages is abhorrent, but I don’t think many see the costs involved in running a restaurant.. most notable by how many open and close continuously…

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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:32 PM

    @Anne Warren: I worked in a car washing/tyre service and it was never demeaning.

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    Mute leartius
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:01 PM

    I’ll let Mr. Pink take this one.
    I don’t tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I’ll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it’s for the birds. As far as I’m concerned, they’re just doing their job.

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    Mute Patricia O'Reilly
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    Oct 28th 2021, 1:42 AM

    @leartius: yes they are JUST doing their job…. A very low paid job, most barely surviving… but hey minimum wage is grand isn’t it?

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    Mute Charmaine ☘ Irish
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    Oct 28th 2021, 4:45 AM

    @Patricia O’Reilly: relax!!! It’s a quote from reservoir dogs

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    Mute Joan Murray
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    Oct 27th 2021, 6:59 PM

    Will tips be taxed, then? As in the US, where tipping a minimum of 10% is the norm in all restaurants and there is an assumption by inland revenue that waiting staff earn a certain percentage in tips in addition to regular salary.

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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:14 PM

    @Joan Murray: hopefully that doesn’t happen here,if I tip I rather the person gets the full value.

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    Mute Muckser Maher
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:57 PM

    @Joan Murray: all credit card tips are put through wages and then taxed again unbeknownst to the customers. Fact

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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:07 PM

    @Muckser Maher: not all places. The pub where I worked would take the amount from the till at the end of the night and put it into the tip jar to be divided out. So if a €100 was left in tips through card payments that €100 was taken from the till.

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    Mute John Murphy
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    Oct 28th 2021, 10:01 AM

    @Jason Ebbs: what happens if the till is short money at the end of the night, tip money could be used by management to balance the books

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    Mute Ciaran Dunne
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:13 PM

    I smell an Election coming down the line soon !

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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:29 PM

    @Ciaran Dunne: where.

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    Mute James Grant
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:08 PM

    @Ciaran Dunne: so when the government do nothing they are criticised and even when they are actively trying to change that for the benefit of the workers people are still not happy bit of begrudgery going on there me thinks as per usual Irish people are never happy

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    Mute Genera L Consensus
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:01 PM

    And now they’ll tax them

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    Mute Cat Reid
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    Oct 27th 2021, 7:27 PM

    Leo to the rescue

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    Mute Paul Shepherd
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:38 PM

    Presumably the hostelries that engage in this practice will merely jack their prices up to make up for their underpaid staff actually getting the tips instead of them “resting”in their employers account?

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    Mute Aidan Dorney
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:54 PM

    All fine & dandy The staff deserve the tips they work hard enough but for god Fu***** sake can they get on with running the country correctly & stop prancing around with we are such great Europeans coming up with all these great little laws.

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    Mute andrew
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    Oct 27th 2021, 8:29 PM

    Good law coming in to help the staff.

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    Mute Lisa Jones
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    Oct 28th 2021, 10:23 AM

    I worked in a restaurant in a hotel next to Dublin Airport and my wages were cut by 25% which was then topped by what the hotel charged guests. I would then rarely receive a tip at the table as the guests assumed that we got the service charge they paid. I’d work from 6.30am to 5pm without hardly a break. Lasted 3 weeks, it was not what I agreed to when i asked what my salary would be. Staff treated like mugs.

    3
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    Mute John Murphy
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    Oct 28th 2021, 9:56 AM

    There are a lot of rogue employers who can’t be trusted to divide tips fairly and completely, especially now that so many customers pay by cards and tap with phones.

    3
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