I had an excellent dining experience recently at a well-known central London restaurant. First-class service. Great food. But then the bill arrived, and that’s when things got murky.
A service charge had been added, but there was no mention that it was discretionary. That didn’t sit right with me.
I asked the staff member: “Is the service charge discretionary?”
She said she “wasn’t sure”.
I followed up: “Do you receive any of it?”
She hesitated. Then said, “It’s not company policy to discuss that.”
Now, the restaurant could be totally compliant and is passing on all its tips and service charges to its employees, as the Allocation of Tips legislation now mandates. But for a customer, this sounds shady.
This experience highlights a much bigger problem in hospitality. There’s a lot of talk about fairness and transparency in tipping, but the reality is quite different. There has been so much dubious practices in the hospitality sector in the past, with companies retaining part or all of tips, unfair distribution models,, and lower paid employees being treated unfairly.
Even with new regulations requiring employers to be transparent with employees, the guest experience remains opaque. I’ve seen very few restaurants openly share their tipping policy, not online, not on the bill, not in person. The result? Guests feel misled or mistrustful and trust quietly erodes.
The missed opportunity of a tronc scheme
Here’s what’s particularly frustrating – many hospitality operators, accountants and payroll providers are still unaware of the benefits of a tronc scheme. They’re literally giving money away to HMRC in the form of National Insurance contributions for the busines and employee that don’t need to be paid on tips.
It’s money left on the table, it’s happening everywhere and it shouldn’t be that way.
Customers are not legislation experts, so you need to spell it out
Hospitality businesses must be radically transparent, not just with employees (as the law now requires), but with their customers too. This transparency isn’t just about compliance; it’s about building trust and doing right by everyone involved.
As a customer, I would love to know that the restaurants I go to are doing everything they can to ensure their workers get everything they have worked so hard for and that my appreciation is going to them.
Need help with a tronc scheme?
At Tips and Troncs, we help make that happen. We offer a full tronc solution from designing and operating your tronc, including the tip distribution scheme, to managing employee communications, acting as your Troncmaster and creating clear, customer-facing policies.
The goal is simple: help your business build trust, reward your team fairly, and stay fully compliant.
Because doing the right thing shouldn’t be complicated, and in hospitality, it should never be hidden.