Restaurants in UK will soon have to give all tips to their staff. UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced new plans that will make it illegal for restaurants to keep tips given by customers. For decades, many restaurants have kept most of tips customers add to their credit card payments or money customers put in tip jars. Some restaurants use tips as part of worker's pay. Many people in England are angry about this. Restaurant workers are among lowest paid staff in Britain and many of them rely on tips to survive. The food and drink industry in UK is huge. There are over 150,000 hotels, bars and restaurants in UK. These employ about two million people.
Many waiting staff in UK are happy that new law is coming in. They said they were fed up with international chain restaurants keeping the money that was meant for waiters. staff also said restaurant managers often used tips to help pay for chefs and kitchen staff. Workers at TGI Fridays restaurant chain went on strike earlier this year because of low pay. Prime Minister May said new law would make sure restaurant workers are treated fairly. She said: "That's why we will introduce tough new legislation to ensure that workers get to keep all of their tips." A spokeswoman for restaurant industry said new law was unnecessary because the industry makes sure working conditions are fair.
