Harrogate MP backs new law to ensure hospitality staff keep their tips

Speaking after the introduction of a new law banning employers from withholding tips, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said he, personally, wanted his tip in pubs or restaurants to go to the people who provided the service.

"We used to hear stories of tips being hoovered up by faceless organisations but that will become a thing of the past,” said Mr Jones.

"When I receive great service in a restaurant or pub I want my tip to go to the people who have provided that service or prepared that meal in the venue where I am."

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 received Royal Assent last week, meaning tips will be protected for more than two million workers.

As a result, £200 million a year will go back into the pockets of staff, the Government estimates.

Mr Jones said the new law would benefit workers in the Harrogate area.

"The value of the visitor economy in our district is estimated at around £600m.

"That is why here, in Harrogate and Knaresborough, where the hospitality industry is so significant and employment in the sector, so high this new law is particularly welcome.”

Front-of-house jobs in the hospitality sector are not generally well-paid, so this is an additional boost on top of last month's 9.7 per cent increase in the National Living Wage boosting it from £9.50 to £10.42.