On Monday 29 July, the Government will lay before Parliament the secondary legislation to bring the Code of Practice and Tipping Act into force from Tuesday 01 October 2024.

Taken from the draft Code:

The Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) published the Code to promote fairness and transparency in the distribution of tips that fall in scope of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023. It comes into effect on 1 July 2024. This Code applies to England, Scotland and Wales and will be reviewed periodically to ensure it remains up to date.

Employers must have regard to the Code when designing and implementing their tipping policies and practices. It is recommended that all parties attempt to resolve issues locally in the first instance. Acas can support on mediation; seeking mediation will not prevent a worker from submitting a claim to an employment tribunal (ET) if they feel their employer has not acted fairly or transparently. Where relevant, judges have a duty to take this Code into account in determining disputes relating to tipping practices. However, failure to fully observe the Code does not in itself amount to proof that an employer has been acting unfairly.

Further non-statutory guidance will be published in due course to accompany this Code of Practice to help employers and workers interpret the legislation.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said:

"While the Code of Practice and Tipping Act were developed and approved under the previous government, they will still come into effect as planned given that they contain important protections for workers, ensuring tips cannot be retained unfairly by employers. The Government remains committed to going further to tighten the law on tipping and we will of course keep you updated as plans to strengthen the law progress."