(2) what measures his Department is taking to ensure that earnings received in tips above contracted rates of pay are always passed on to service staff.
Current legislation already requires that workers should receive the national minimum wage. Under the present minimum wage regulations, cash tips, service charges, gratuities or cover charges that are paid by the employer through the pay roll can count towards the NMW. Many restaurants operate systems known as “troncs” where cash tips are gathered centrally and then allocated out by the head waiter. In some cases the tronc is shared out between the workers without the employer being involved. In these cases the tips would not count towards the minimum wage. However in some cases the tips or tronc money is passed to the restaurant and paid out through the payroll and therefore can count towards the national minimum wage.