A government plan to force restaurants to give all tips to staff has today been given strong backing in Norwich.
A sandwich bar owner and a number of city shoppers all agreed with the move, set to revealed today at the Tory Party conference, with one branding restaurant firms that kept tips as 'outrageous'.
The move follows a public outcry in 2015, when it emerged that many High street chains routinely took up to 10% of tips paid by credit and debit card.
Most chains have since stopped this practice, typically charging a much lower fee of 2.5% on tips paid by card.
The hospitality trade body UK Hospitality said the fact restaurants had acted voluntarily meant new legislation was unnecessary.
'We developed a code of practice - together with Unite - which deals with the fair distribution of tips among all staff, not just waiters,' said chief executive Kate Nicholls.
'As a result, best practice has been promoted across the sector and we see no evidence of tips being withheld across restaurant chains.'
Anthea McNamara, owner of Logan's Sandwich Bar on Swan Lane, Norwich, shares the tips among her staff and welcomed the changes.
She said: 'I think all customer tips should be for the staff because it is very much a team effort and that is the fair thing to do.'
Customers in Norwich have backed the proposal in the interests of staff.
Fatima Malagueira, from Newmarket, said: 'It is outrageous if owners take the tips. Customers are tipping the waiting staff, not the restaurant. They have already paid for the food.'
John Duffy, from Somerset, who works in Norwich, said he was cautious about giving tips.
He said: 'I only give tips in cash because I want to make sure, as best as I can, that the money I am giving goes to the staff and I am concerned that if I was to do it on card then it would not.'
One Norwich resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'It is terrible if owners are taking a share. You have already paid for the food and that is the important thing.'
Former waiter Lily Barber, 19, from Cambridge, said: 'I used to work in a restaurant and the tips we earned made it better. We used to share our tips between everyone who worked there because everyone plays their part.'
Michael Kubala, 21, from Peterborough, said: 'Personally, I think waiters and waitresses deserve the tips they get because they do not get paid as much as people in other countries and it can make a big difference to them.
'It is the choice of the customer to give money to them and they often think it will go straight to the staff.
'It helps the waiting staff know how well they are working when they get the tips.'
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