Unite has called on the government to withdraw its draft tipping code of practice, claiming the plans fail to give hospitality workers proper control over how tips are shared.

The union, which represents thousands of hospitality workers, said the draft code should be pulled back to allow for fuller consultation with staff and trade unions.

Unite claimed the government had “reneged” on a previous commitment to give workers greater control over the allocation of tips.

Under the draft code, employers would be required to consult workers on how tips are distributed. However, Unite said the final decision would still sit with employers, giving bosses too much control over which staff receive tips.

The union warned that the approach could disadvantage some of the lowest-paid hospitality workers, many of whom are on insecure or precarious contracts.

It also raised concerns that tips could be used to offset low pay among other staff, including kitchen workers, or that managers could retain part of the tipping pool themselves.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Workers should have control over their own tips pure and simple. Most customers assume they do anyway.

“Giving managers control, even letting them keep a slice for themselves, is clearly unfair.

“The government messed this up the first time in their code of practice on tipping. The fact that they are now repeating the same mistakes in a revised version that was supposed to address workers’ concerns is genuinely concerning.”

Unite also criticised the government for what it described as a failure to consult properly on the detail of the tipping code, in contrast to other parts of the Employment Rights Act.

In January, the union forced the government to withdraw a factsheet on tipping after objecting to language it said demeaned collective bargaining and misrepresented the potential impact of worker-led tipping policies.

Unite lead organiser for hospitality Bryan Simpson said: “This new flawed code of practice must be withdrawn.

“The government is showing contempt for hospitality workers who are among the most vulnerable in the economy, by not even consulting on its plans.

“Labour promised to give workers greater control over their tips. That promise must now be honoured.”

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