Legislation To Protect Employee Tips In Effect
The Ministry of Economy and Labour reminded the public that the Employment [Protection of Employee Tips and Other Gratuities] Amendment Act 2023 and the Procedural Guidance for determining the distribution of tips and other gratuities comes into effect today [March 1].
A Government spokesperson said, “The public is reminded that the Amendment Act passed last year ensures the fair distribution of employee tips and other gratuities. The new law prohibits 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 the employees who share in the tips, tip pool or redistribution of other gratuities.
“The Ministry has published Procedural Guidance to accompany the Amendment Act, which also takes effect tomorrow, 1 March 2024. The Procedural Guidance outlines what it means to perform work to a substantial degree, what it means to perform the same work as some or all of the employees who share in the tips, tip pool or redistribution of other gratuities and what Labour Relations Officers will consider when reviewing complaints in this regard.
“As required by law, all employers who regularly receive tips and other gratuities must have a Policy Statement that advises on the management of tips and how other gratuities are collected and redistributed.
“To assist businesses that may not already have such a Policy Statement in place, the Ministry has created a template Policy Statement that businesses may incorporate to ensure compliance with the legislation. An online template Policy Statement for employers to complete and download is available at Tip and Other Gratuities Policy Statement [forms.gov.bm].”
The Minister of Economy and Labour, Jason Hayward, explained, “As the Ministry continues working to strengthen the protections afforded to employees and workers in Bermuda, I am confident the new law, guidance and policy template will positively impact Bermuda’s workforce, ensuring all employees receive their fair share of tips and other gratuities.”
“Employers, employees and their representatives with questions or concerns should contact the Department of Labour at 23 Parliament Street, Hamilton, in the old Magistrates’ Court building. The Department of Labour is open Monday to Friday between 8:45 am and 5:00 pm and can be contacted via phone at 297-7716 and email at departmentoflabour@gov.bm,” the spokesperson added.
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there are some that would rather protect the employer’s greed over the employee’s right to a decent income. While there is no intention to put people out of business as that will then reduce overall jobs, there need to be guidelines in place to ensure staff who rely on tips and grats are not taken advantage of.
Well done to the PLP for taking these steps to look out for the workers.
” the employee’s right to a decent income”
Where does an “employee’s right to a decent income” come from please?
in this current system many humans are force to become employees to survive.
becoming an employee takes away your time to do anything else like self development. if your time is taken away your time should be worth enough to afford a place to rest when you are not at work
Fair enough, but where did this concept of a “right” to a job (presumably of the employee’s own choosing) and the “right” to a “decent income” come from please?
This ais a simple law that could have been implemented many years ago. Why all the fanfare, why do I need to hear about it 30 plus times in speeches and in plans and in the media. This is simply causing maybe 20 people to get paid properly as most employers do not share in the tips unless they work on the floor themselves.
What this really is, is propaganda to make people think the PLP are doing more than they actually are doing, all while siphoning off 41 million dollars to friends and family as consultants.
How about the employer’s right to a hardworking, competent, honest and decent employee?
Wouldn’t have to backtrack on anything if your party didn’t implement this livable wage which in reality hardly benefits a small amount of Bermudians and the majority foreigners lol. If anything it makes things worse