The SIPTU Hospitality Sector Committee has welcomed changes to the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022, which will ban the display of service charges on bills unless the payment is going directly to staff, which were passed in the Seanad Éireann yesterday (Wednesday, 29th June). SIPTU Sector Organiser, Denis Hynes, said: “Workers in the hospitality sector have experience of most customers that leave tips or pay service charges in electronic transactions for food or accommodation assuming that the monies go directly to staff. This change to the proposed legislation will now ensure that the money goes where it is intended. “Low pay is a very serious issue for workers in the hospitality sector. Ensuring that these workers receive all the monies derived from tips and service charges has long been campaigned for by SIPTU activists. However, the primary issue for workers in the hospitality sector is the prevalence of low pay. This issue must be addressed by the establishment of an Employment Regulation Order for the industry which will set minimum pay rates and other conditions.” He added: “The industry has bottomed out with thousands leaving to take up employment elsewhere. There is in some sectors of the industry a culture of exploitation. Not every employer is bad. However, there are some that are and some that take advantage of workers. In order to combat this we must ensure all workers terms and conditions of employment are adequate and protected.”
SIPTU supports law to ensure monies paid as service charges go to workers
