The government has announced that a new law will come into force from 1 December to protect tips received by workers.
The Payment of Wages Act gives employees the legal right to receive tips and gratuities paid electronically and requires that this money be paid to employees fairly.
Any charge labeled as a “service charge” or anything that would lead a customer to believe it is a service charge must be distributed to staff as if it were an electronically received tip or tip.
The distribution of tips can take into account factors such as an employee’s seniority or experience, the value of the sales they generate, or the number of hours worked.
Employers must show information on how tips, gratuities and mandatory charges are shared or distributed among staff.
Failure to comply with the viewing obligations could result in a penalty.
There will be a four-week period between now and December 1 to give employers time to prepare for the changes required by the new law.
The main sectors to which the measures will apply are tourism, hospitality, hairdressing, taxis and delivery services, but there could be additions to the list in the future if new areas of the economy where tipping prevails emerge.
Tánaiste and Minister of Commerce and Employment Leo Varadkar said: “Tips can form a significant percentage of a worker’s take-home pay and these changes go a long way to ensuring those tips are distributed to the people who have earned them”, reported RTE.
“While most employers treat their staff fairly, this will help to stamp out bad practices where they exist and give customers the confidence that gratuities are paid to staff,” he added, reports RTE.
The new law requires the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Labour to review the legislation one year after its entry into force, allowing the Government to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures and decide if further action is needed.
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