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Business of the House

Will my right hon. Friend ask the Department of Trade and Industry to consider closely tips and the minimum wage, as mentioned in early-day motion 1132, which my hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Mr. Devine) and I tabled and which gathered 115 signatures from hon. Members of all parties? [That this House views with concern the ongoing situation whereby tips, service charges, gratuities or cover charges in the hospitality industry count towards the minimum wage if paid through the payroll; recognises that many of the two million people who work in the hospitality industry are denied the benefit of the tips which customers give under the impression that it will be paid as an additional payment to staff on top of their wages; and calls on the Government to amend Regulation 31 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Statutory Instrument 1999 No 584) to ensure that all tips, service charges, gratuities, or cover charges are paid to staff in addition to their minimum wage regardless of the method of payment used by the place of employment.] It is clearly an anomaly that we introduced the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and then allowed regulation 31(1)(e) of the 1999 regulations to provide that tips and gratuities paid through the wage bill be counted towards the minimum wage. It is time that the matter was tackled. I asked the Prime Minister about it yesterday and he said that the Low Pay Commission would consider it. It is a matter of simple legislation to remove the appalling anomaly from people’s relationship with the work force and workplace of hospitality workers. If we do that shortly, we will garner the pleasure and commendation of those in the hospitality industry.