Government issues new guidelines on sharing gratuities
The Government has issued new guidance for businesses about the distribution of tips to staff.
Last year, MPs passed an amendment to the Employment Act 2000 to “provide for the protection and fair distribution of employee tips and other gratuities”.
It also “prohibited employers and their directors and shareholders from sharing in any tips, tip pool or any other gratuities unless they regularly perform, to a substantial degree, the same work performed by some or all of the employees who share in the tips, tip pool or redistribution of other gratuities”.
In a statement to the House of Assembly, the economy and labour minister Jason Hayward said there was now new Procedural Guidance for determining what constitutes work regularly performed to a substantial degree with respect to the distribution of tips and other gratuities.
“When drafting the Procedural Guidance, the views of the Labour Advisory Council, a tripartite body consisting of employer, employee and government representatives were sought and considered, and an agreement on the guidance was reached,” said the minister.
It details what it means to perform work to a substantial degree; what it means to perform the same work of all of the employees who share in the tips, tip pool or redistribution of other gratuities; and what a Labour Relations Officer will consider when reviewing a complaint in this regard.
Mr Hayward added: “The guidance will strengthen the policy statement that employers are required to create and implement pursuant to the amendment, which provides for how tips are to be treated and other gratuities are to be collected and redistributed.”
He said it would ensure adherence to the law and “prevent the misapplication of tips and other gratuities and unauthorised participation in the tip pool”.
“As we continue to strengthen the protections afforded to employees and workers within Bermuda, I am assured that with the support of industry, their social partners and other relevant employer representatives this will prove to have a positive impact on the workforce within Bermuda and limit abuses as it pertains to employees being able to retain earned tips and other gratuities,” added the minister.
The Procedure Guidance will come into effect on March 1 and will be applied by the Department of Labour and the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal in their adjudication process.
• For Jason Hayward’s full statement and the Procedural Guidance, see Related Media.
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