News & Events

Minister Richmond launches public consultation on the payment of tips

Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Neale Richmond TD, is seeking the views of stakeholders on the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022, the legislation that provides protection for tips. The Act came into effect on 1 December 2022.

Minister Richmond said:

“This legislation provides clarity and transparency to how tips, gratuities and service charges are treated for the first time. This provides huge benefits to workers, particularly those in the hospitality and services sectors who rely on tips, as well as their customers.

“These protections have been in place for over a year now and we are seeking to hear from both workers who receive tips, as well as business owners, as to how this is working in practice, and where possible improvements can be made.

“I would encourage all those who are impacted by this legislation to partake in this consultation to ensure that their views are heard.

“This Government believes in making work pay and allowing workers to retain their hard-earned tips is an important aspect of this.

“While the vast majority of employers treat employees and their tips well, where issues arise, employees can turn to the Workplace Relations Commission if they feel they have been unfairly treated.”

The Act requires that a statutory review be undertaken after one year, to assess the impact of the legislation. As part of this statutory review, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is now seeking the views of stakeholders on the Act and has published a consultation document on a range of topics.  This public consultation document sets out:

  • the background to the current legislative framework for tips and gratuities
  • an overview of the key requirements of the Act
  • possible weaknesses in the current legislative framework
  • possible areas for improvement

The Minister now invites anyone impacted by this legislation, be they stakeholders or representative organisations, to partake in the required public consultation process.

The consultation can be accessed at the following link: Public consultation on the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022

Further information

Submissions

Views from stakeholders and interested parties are requested no later than 3pm on 22 February 2024.

Submissions should be marked ‘Public consultation on the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022’ and should be emailed to employmentrights@enterprise.gov.ie.

ENDS