How to choose a tipping platform for UK hospitality

What the law requires (England, Scotland and Wales)

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 came fully into force on 1 October 2024 (SI 2024/829), together with the statutory code of practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips (SI 2024/831). In short, an employer must:

• pass all qualifying tips to workers, without deductions (other than tax and, where it applies, National Insurance);
• share them fairly, having regard to the code of practice;
• pay them by the end of the month after the month the customer paid;
• have a written tipping policy, available to all workers, if tips are received more than occasionally;
• keep records of tips and how they were shared for three years, and give workers their records when they ask.

Workers can take a claim to an employment tribunal, and tribunals take the code into account.

What's changing

The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens these rules. The government's consultation on a revised code of practice (closed 29 September 2026) proposes that employers must consult workers when writing or changing their tipping policy, and review the policy at least every three years. The revised code needs Parliament's approval, so check GOV.UK for its current status.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Following the Act is the employer's responsibility.

11 questions to ask any tipping provider

1. Who holds the money, and for how long?

Ask whether tips go to staff directly, sit with the venue, or sit with the provider, and how long before staff can use them.

Certainlyours: direct tips are paid to the professional's own Stripe account and can be withdrawn once Stripe settles the card payment (usually a few days). Team tips (Pool or Proportional) are collected into the Certainlyours (Get Certain Ltd) platform Stripe balance, not the venue's, and paid out to staff on the venue's payout day.

2. What comes off a £10 tip?

Ask for the full deduction on a £10 tip in writing: the provider's percentage, card processing, and any withdrawal fee.

Certainlyours: no commission on tips and free standard withdrawals. Guests pay the card fee (1.5% + 20p) on top of the tip; optional instant withdrawals cost 3.5% (minimum 50p). Venues pay a plan by team size (prices).

3. Does the guest need an app or an account?

Every extra step loses tips.

Certainlyours: no. The QR code opens in any phone browser; rating, a few words and a tip take under thirty seconds.

4. Which sharing rules does it support?

Teams differ. Some want tips to go to the person who served; others share equally or by hours.

Certainlyours: Direct (to the person), Pool (split equally) or Proportional (split by verified hours from QR clock-in). The staff vote and the rule is written down.

5. Does it produce a written tipping policy?

Certainlyours: yes. Each professional reads and acknowledges the policy in the app, and that acknowledgement is recorded with the policy version.

6. Can it show that staff were consulted?

This matters more under the revised code.

Certainlyours: staff votes on the sharing rule and policy acknowledgements are recorded, so the consultation trail builds as you go.

7. Will it keep three years of records, ready to hand to a worker?

Certainlyours: every tip is recorded: who received it, when and how much. Records are kept for the three years the Act requires.

8. Who owns the reviews?

If reviews belong to the venue, staff lose them when they leave. If the venue can delete them, guests can't trust them.

Certainlyours: reviews belong to the professional and follow them between venues. The same review also lands on the venue's record. Neither side can edit or delete a QR review; it can only be disputed through support within 14 days.

9. How are staff verified?

Certainlyours: Stripe checks each professional's identity when they connect their bank (Stripe Connect). The gold tick means Stripe has verified their bank account.

10. Where is the data, and who can see it?

Certainlyours: card payments are handled by Stripe (PCI DSS Level 1) and card details are never stored by Certainlyours. Records sit on Supabase with row level security, so each person only sees their own records. The public QR page shows only a first name and initial, photo, role, venue and rating.

11. Does it help the venue get found?

More guests now ask AI assistants where to go.

Certainlyours: every venue gets a public page at certainlyours.com/v/your-venue with its verified guest reviews, rating, address, hours and photos, written so search engines and AI assistants can read it.

Checklist

Sources

1. Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 (c. 13), legislation.gov.uk
2. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/829
3. Distributing tips fairly: statutory code of practice, GOV.UK
4. Code of Practice on Fair and Transparent Distribution of Tips (Appointed Day) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/831
5. Consultation on a revised tipping code of practice, Department for Business and Trade, 2026
6. Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill: passage through Parliament, UK Parliament
7. Certainlyours product facts: About Certainlyours, Terms, Privacy

Written by Certainlyours (Get Certain Limited). We make one of the platforms described here.