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| Hospitality Today | June/July 2016
Ufi Ibrahim (right), CEO of The British
Hospitality Association (BHA) – which
represents over 40,000 hospitality
establishments in the UK - has welcomed
the consultation. Ms Ibrahim said:
“Transparency is precisely what we asked
the government to consider. Customers should
be able to reward good service and know
where their money ends up and how much
of it goes to the staff.”
“Over the coming few weeks, we will convene
a series of meetings with hospitality business
leaders across the UK and conduct our own
impact assessment, to deliver a unified and
robust response to inform the government’s
decision making process”.
Previously, during the Governments ‘call
for evidence’ The British Hospitality
Association asked Business Secretary
Sajid Javid (opposite) to make it a legal
requirement for restaurants to tell
customers how tips and service charges
are distributed among staff.
Ufi Ibrahim continued: “Many restaurant
customers struggle to understand the
difference between a tip and a service charge.
What’s more they aren’t always sure what
happens to the extra money they leave at the
end of a meal. We believe restaurants should
have to provide a written notice explaining
exactly what happens to service charges
and tips.”
Andy Hamman, Employment Tax
Director of BDO, says: “Although delaying
any potential change for the sector, [the
consultation] should be welcomed as a
positive opportunity, providing a valuable
forum to offer representations and further
feedback to government.
“It is worth noting that BIS took some five
months to respond to the Call For Evidence.
Assuming this consultation will receive
significantly higher responses, one should not
expect findings to be published much before
the autumn.”
Mark Linehan MD of the Sustainable
Restaurant Association (SRA), commented:
“The Government’s review of tipping and
service charges is a very welcome step
towards ensuring a fairer deal for the
600,000 people working in the industry and
the millions of people who eat out every day
“The UK dining public’s attitude to tips
and service charges is straight forward: it
demands that staff are treated fairly and that
restaurants are utterly transparent about
what they are charging customers and where
the money goes.
“When, in 2014, we asked consumers to
identify the sustainability issue that mattered
most to them when eating out, fair treatment
of staff came out on top. Ensuring that staff
who have contributed to a pleasurable dining
experience receive all their tip is a key part of
that fair treatment.