My speech in the Dáil on the Sinn Féin bill on Tips and Gratuities. If our bill becomes law then it would make it illegal for an employer to withhold, deduct, or demand the return of a tip from an employee without a lawful excuse.
It would also require businesses to display their tipping policy on a menu or in a similarly prominent manner.
None of these payments should be used to make up the national minimum wage or should be kept by the employer to cover breakages, or the cost of those who have done a runner or as additional profit for the employer or owner of the restaurant, bar and so on.
The tip is a recognition of a job well done. An employer taking the tip off the staff member is effectively telling them that they don’t matter. Sinn Féin believes that hard working staff do matter and the tip for their service shows that the customer also think that they matter. They deserve to keep the tips and gratuities that they have earned.