Leisure Industry Reminded and Cautioned to Share Tips with Temporary Workers
A cautionary note for all firms working under the leisure and hospitality industry has been made, in relation to sharing the tips given by the customers with the temporary employees in accordance with the changed Agency Workers Regulations.
However, this caution was made by Jim Lister, the Head and Partner of Employment at law firm Pannone after he received several queries relating to the changed agency workers rules. These companies refused to split their tips with temporary staffs until the introduction of the changed Agency Workers Regulation.
Jim Lister confirmed on receiving numerous queries to their law firm from firms working under the hospitality industry regarding the exact nature of the rules related to the changed Agency Workers Regulations, as they were in doubt about them. He recommended the firms to study their company policies again and include temporary staffs who have over 12 weeks of continuous service at their firm. However, he cautioned that firms not doing so would be seen as violating the new rules.
Prior to the introduction of the changed Agency Workers Regulation, lodges, eateries, inns and pubs used to share their tips with their permanent staff members. Temporary staff members were not eligible for any part of the tip in their salary. In fact, quite a few prominent leisure companies in UK have never shared their tips with their temporary staff members.
The new Agency Workers Regulations that came into effect on 1st October 2011, states that firms taking tips from clients, paid by cash or via their credit cards will have to split evenly it with their permanent and temporary workers. However to qualify to the share of tips, temporary staffs must complete a minimum of 12 continuous weeks at their firm.
The changed rules define the compensation of a temporary worker to contain the facility to get reward or incentive for the work completed which is directly contributed by their amount or quality of work.
Presently the most common method followed by nearly all firms is to split their tips with their permanent staff depending on the hours that they had worked. The same technique can also be applied while considering temporary staffs that have completed 12 weeks of work at their firm. For firms, who charge mandatory service charges to their customers, this amount that is being shared fairly among permanent staff, will now also include temporary staff in the division.
Employers can keep themselves up to date with employment relations developments by taking an accredited CIPD course. Workplace Law Group offer qualifications certified by the National Examination Board for Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH courses), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).