Mr. Tim Fenn:

As a basic principle, we believe that all tips and gratuities should go to staff. The difficulty is that this is a complex area. Sometimes people add their gratuity or tip in the form of an electronic payment. This means it enters the books and records of the business. Once it is on the books the employer clearly has a responsibility to look after it, to pay it to staff based on whatever agreement they have about how it is distributed and to account to the Revenue for tax. It gets complex if the money is left on the table. The employer has no hand, act or part in the distribution of that cash. It is handled solely by the staff. That means the employer has no responsibility and the staff handle it themselves. That is the best way for it to be handled, full stop. We get into a very vague area if the employer is placed under a legal obligation to have some control over it. First, that brings money that may or may not be accountable into a system where the employer is legally responsible for it. Second, when that money comes in it has to go on to the books and records. Once there, it has the same status as money that comes in from a credit or debit card. At the moment, when the employer gets the money he or she is responsible for it and has to deliver it to the staff. We have no issue whatever with clarifying that. Ideally, it should be in a contract of employment so that employees know what their rights are, what they are entitled to get and how this money is calculated and distributed. There is no issue with that.

However, criminal sanctions forcing an employer to go around sweeping cash off tables and making the employer criminally responsible for not doing this correctly would create a very difficult administrative responsibility. I am not sure that would serve the interests of the employees. The employees themselves are best positioned to manage that cash. They should manage it themselves. If the employer chooses to take that money and manage it, he or she takes responsibility. However, the employer should not be required to do so. It is not the best outcome for the employees. The best outcome for the employees is for them to manage the cash left on the tables. That is the point we are making. I hope I have made that clear.