The UK's 2024 law: tips must now go 100% to staff
Since October 2024, the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act requires UK employers to pass on 100% of tips, gratuities, and service charges to workers, without deductions for administration or business costs, and to do so within a month of the customer paying. Before this law, a "discretionary service charge" added to a UK restaurant bill could legally be kept in part by the business, so this is a genuinely new consumer protection worth knowing about.
Cash versus card tips in the UK
A cash tip left directly on the table still reaches staff immediately and in full, whereas a tip added to a card payment or a service charge on the bill now must be distributed under the new law, but may take a little longer to reach the person who served you. If you want to be certain a specific server benefits straight away, cash in hand remains the most direct method.