This is a talking point published in the Hereford Times on October 31.

Andy Link, Riverside Inn at Aymestrey

THIS month sees the launch of a new law on tipping – the employment allocation of tips act. The Government estimates that a whopping £200 million a year is being withheld by some hospitality businesses, in some cases being used to pay staff wages. Withholding tips from hardworking staff is something we certainly do not agree with.

The new legislation has given us the opportunity to look at the culture of tipping, and how it works in practice in our pub.

For at least the last nine years we have used what we feel is the fairest policy; where tips are collected and divided equally every week between all employees based on number of hours worked. This includes all front-of-house staff, cleaners, pot washers, chefs, gardeners, and apprentices.

Our decision was based on the fact that each and every one of us plays a huge part in ensuring that our guests have a perfect experience– therefore all rewards should be shared fairly.

At present, we believe tipping should be discretionary, as a reward for exceptional service and experience.

However, we know that many hospitality businesses add service charges piling on an automatic charge of between 10-20 per cent.

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You only have to look at America to see the challenges with this. With hospitality jobs being extremely poorly paid in the States, with no minimum wage, restaurant workers rely on tips to supplement their meagre pay. Tips, although they shouldn’t, make up a large percentage of workers’ income. As a result, tipping is an expectation rather than a reward.

By contrast, in the UK, tipping isn’t obligatory. Should wages improve, it would be nice to see a future where tipping is unnecessary– the process can cause embarrassment at times.

But, for the time being, it serves the purpose of ensuring that the teams that go the extra mile are rewarded for their efforts by the generosity of happy customers.