How to get ready for the tipping law changes while the start date is unknown

Last checked 17 Oct 2026. Great Britain only. Dates can change.

Start by listing every way tips and service charges reach your business, how they are shared out, who decides and what you record. Then check that staff can see the answers. You can do all of this now, because rules on fair sharing of tips have applied since 1 October 2024. The new changes do not yet have a start date.

What is and is not confirmed

• What GOV.UK says: its timeline lists strengthening tipping law for the end of 2026, without a day. We have not found a start date in any commencement regulations as at 17 October 2026. See the tipping page.
• Expected, not fixed: Acas lists employer consultation before creating or reviewing a tipping policy, a summary of feedback for staff and a policy update at least every three years as changes due by the end of 2026. Treat this as the likely direction, not as settled detail.
• Already in place: GOV.UK's statutory code of practice took effect on 1 October 2024. It covers fair and transparent distribution, a written tipping policy where tips are paid more than occasionally, and records of tips.

How long this takes

An afternoon for a small venue to complete the inventory and first draft of your records. Then 30 minutes a month to keep it up to date.

Steps

1. Inventory the tip routes. List every way a customer can give a tip or pay a service charge: cash in a jar or on the table, card terminal prompts, a service charge added to the bill, app or QR code payments, online orders and payments to a pooled scheme. GOV.UK's code says card, app and QR tips are generally treated as tips the employer received. Cash is covered if you direct how it is shared or collect and distribute it. Tips that a customer sends straight to a worker through the customer's own app, or cash that a worker keeps without your involvement, are out of scope.
2. Write down how tips are shared today. Who decides? Is it equal shares, points, hours worked, or by role? Is there a pooled arrangement run by a person or company (often called a tronc)? Are agency workers included? What happens to tips from a shift where someone is off sick?
3. Check for deductions. The code says employers must pass on all tips and service charges without deductions, apart from limited exceptions such as income tax. Tips cannot count towards minimum wage pay. Note any card processing costs and how you deal with them, and take advice if unsure.
4. Check the timing. The code says tips must be distributed by the end of the month after the month the customer paid. Compare it with your payroll calendar.
5. Write or update your tipping policy. In plain language, saying how tips are received, shared and paid out, and what makes it fair. The code says it should be accessible to all staff, including agency workers.
6. Set up your records. Keep a record of the qualifying tips received and the amount each worker was allocated. The code and Acas say records should be kept for three years from when each tip was paid, and a worker can ask to see theirs once every three months.
7. Plan the staff conversation. Decide how you will ask for views before you change anything. Acas already advises consulting workers and any union before setting a tipping policy. Plan to keep a short summary of what was said and what you decided.
8. Diary a check. Look at GOV.UK each month until a start date and any updated code appear.

Telling your staff

Tell people what you do now and that you are checking it against new rules that are expected. Do not promise a date or a change in share. Show how tips are received and divided in a way they can follow, and say who to ask. Answer concerns the same way as any other concern. Acas points to its grievance code for tip complaints.

What to record

• The inventory of tip routes and the date it was made
• The current sharing method and the date it was last changed
• Totals of tips received per period and amounts paid to each worker, with payment dates
• Any deductions, with the reason
• Consultation: who was asked, when and what you decided
• Policy versions, with dates, and when staff were told
• Requests from workers for their records, and your reply dates

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the start date before doing anything. Much of this applies already.
• Assuming card tips are different from cash tips. Method of payment alone does not decide.
• Changing the sharing method without asking staff first.
• Telling staff a start date or a new amount that is not confirmed.
• Not keeping records of who was paid what, or when.
• Treating a pooled scheme run by someone else as no longer your concern. Under the code, if you later learn it is acting unfairly, you must act.

This guide is general information to help you prepare, not legal advice.

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