Trade union Unite is demanding Stormont legislate for “fair tips”, giving hospitality workers in Northern Ireland the same rights as elsewhere in the UK.
From tomorrow, workers in the hospitality sector in Great Britain will have legal protections to receive 100% of tips paid by customers in restaurants, cafes, hotels or other service industries, without deductions or delays, on a monthly basis.
The same rights will however not extend to Northern Ireland – meaning workers here are to be denied rights provided elsewhere in the UK.
The new legislation is the direct result of a successful campaign waged by hospitality workers in Unite.
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite the union, said: “It is completely unacceptable that fair tips laws which Unite has fought to win since 2007 have been introduced by Westminster but not by the Stormont executive.
“Hospitality workers in Northern Ireland should have the same rights and entitlement to receive fair tips as do their colleagues in Great Britain. There can be no excuse for the failure to provide workers in Northern Ireland with the same rights.”
Lead regional officer for hospitality in Northern Ireland, Neil Moore, adds: “Stormont’s failure to implement fair tips legislation has left bosses free to dip their hand in the tips when it suits them.
“This is made all the worse alongside endemic low pay in the sector, leaving many hospitality workers relying on their tips to get home safely or even to pay for basic essentials.
“There’s no reason why fair tips cannot be immediately delivered in Northern Ireland. Hospitality workers need these rights to be legally enforceable now.”
