What the 2024 tipping law actually changed
Before the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 came into force on 1 October 2024, a venue could legally deduct administration costs or a share of card-processing fees from tips and service charges before staff saw the money. The Act closed that gap: it requires employers to allocate qualifying tips, gratuities and service charges fairly among workers at that place of business, and to pay them out no later than the end of the month following the month the customer paid.
A statutory Code of Practice, in force alongside the Act, sets out what counts as a fair allocation and requires employers to have a written tipping policy that workers can see on request. The law covers tips paid by card as well as cash, and applies whether the charge is described as a tip, a gratuity or a service charge, so relabelling a service charge does not exempt a business from the rule.
Restaurants: what the percentage actually buys
At a sit-down restaurant, a service charge of around 10-12.5% is commonly added to the bill automatically, and this is now covered by the same fair-distribution rule as a cash tip left on the table. Check the printed bill: UK law requires the total to be shown clearly, and a service charge line should be itemised rather than folded silently into the food and drink prices.
If service was genuinely poor, you are not legally obliged to pay a discretionary service charge, and you can ask staff to remove it before you pay. This is different from a mandatory service charge written into the terms of a large group booking, which functions more like a fixed condition of the reservation than an optional add-on, so check the booking confirmation if you are dining as a large party.
Why the pub bar works differently
Ordering a drink at a pub bar in Britain does not carry the same tipping convention as table service. You pay at the point of ordering, there is no separate bill to add a percentage to, and the traditional gesture — if you want to make one — is to tell the bartender to "have one yourself" rather than leave cash, which they may take as its cash value or simply thank you for.
Taxis, hotels and hairdressers: three different norms
These three services sit in different places on the same spectrum, and none of them carries a fixed, government-set rate.
| Service | Typical practice | What you are not obliged to do |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed taxi / minicab | Round up the fare or add a small amount for help with luggage | Calculate a percentage tip |
| Hotel | Tip porters and housekeeping individually and only for direct help | Leave one lump tip covering the whole stay |
| Hairdresser / salon | A modest tip is common if you were happy with the cut | Tip if the service was self-service or unsatisfactory |
This table compares how tipping norms differ by service type in Britain.
None of these three sectors has the same wall-to-wall tipping culture as US table service, and in each case the underlying principle from the 2024 law still applies if a tip is taken by card or added to an invoice: it must reach the person who did the work.
Deciding what to leave
Start from the bill in front of you rather than a fixed national percentage. If a service charge is already added and you were satisfied, you have already tipped and do not need to add more in cash. If no service charge appears and you enjoyed a sit-down meal, 10-12.5% left on a card machine or in cash is a reasonable, unforced gesture rather than an obligation.
What this guide does not cover
This article covers hospitality tipping norms and the 2024 tipping law; it does not cover VAT treatment of service charges for business expense claims, or tipping conventions for tour guides and private drivers, which vary by operator and should be confirmed with that operator directly.