December 01, 2022
New Law Protects Employees’ Tips & Service Charges
A particularly relevant one given the time of year. The Payment of Wages (Amendment)(Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022 is to be introduced on 1st December 2022. It gives Employees legal rights over how tips are distributed. Under the Act, Employers are required to:
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Provide clarity on the meaning of tips, gratuities and mandatory service charges – all now fall under “service charge”
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Prominently display their policy on how both card and cash tips are distributed
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Ensure tips and gratuities – but not mandatory service charges – are placed outside the scope of an employee’s contractual wages
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Ensure all electronic tips are distributed fairly and in a transparent way
Organisations will also be required to keep a record of how tips and gratuities are distributed in the event of there being a complaint.
Right to Request Remote Working to be Integrated with Work Life Balance Bill
The legislation giving Employees the right to request remote work is to be included in the Work Life Balance Bill, which is expected to be delivered by the end of the year.
Therefore, Employers and Employees will now be making and considering requests for remote working under one piece of legislation and one Code of Practice – which is to be developed by the Workplace Relations Commission.
Under the integrated Bill, there is now an obligation on the Employer to consider both their needs and the needs of Employees when assessing a request, having regard to the Code of Practice. The Code of Practice will provide guidance to Employers and Employees on their obligations regarding compliance.
Under the integrated Bill, Remote Working will be defined as one type of flexible working and all Employees will have a right to request remote working. The right to request any other type of flexible working, such as reduced hours, will remain limited to Parents and Carers, as defined in the Bill.