By Pepper Parr
June 9, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It has been a long time coming – and the people who work in the hospitality business should not have had to wait this long.
In many, far too many restaurants, the owners have been keeping a portion of the tip you left for the person who served you.
Starting tomorrow, Ontario is making it illegal for employers to take employees’ tips and other gratuities, except in limited circumstances.
Employers will also not be able to make deductions from tips for things like spillage, breakage, losses or damage. These rules affect employers and employees covered by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 in workplaces where tips and other gratuities are received – such as at bars, restaurants, hair and nail salons, catering firms and taxis.
Employers are allowed to withhold or make deductions from their employees’ tips and other gratuities if they are:
• Collecting and redistributing the money among some or all its employees, a practice often referred to as tip pooling
• If a statute or a court order authorizes it
Business owners who regularly spend most of their time doing the same work as those who would normally receive tips – such as cleaning and serving food – will still be allowed to take part in a tip pool.
The 2014 Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey found there were 65,300 food and beverage service employees in Ontario who receive tips and gratuities.
For those of you working in the hospitality business – forward this to your employer – they have been stealing your money for far too long.
