Tipping in London
I set off a bit of a firestorm here on The London Traveler recently when I wrote about London pubs. Specifically, it was what I wrote about tipping at London pubs; it’s not necessary.
That seemed to be quite provocative, and based on the comments, that is certainly not the case across the UK. So I’d like to write a little bit more on that most confusing of any topics for a visitor to a new country: tipping.
Tipping in General
While tipping still happens in the UK, it is neither quite as common or as much as it is in the US/North America. Many professions which in the US which are paid specifically less than the minimum wage because they earn tips are paid at least a minimum wage in the UK. While tipping is always appreciated, you won’t be chased down the street by someone screaming at you for a cheap (or non-existant) tip.
At the Pub
As I mentioned in a previous post, tipping in London pubs is not required. If you really want to tip the staff, buy them a drink by saying something along the lines of “and one for yourself.” They’ll then add the cost of their drink to your bill.
However, as the comments to that post noted, tipping in pubs is done elsewhere in the UK. This is probably where you need to do a bit of follow-the-leader. If there’s a jar for tips, and/or other customers are leaving tips, then I would suggest you do the same. Rounding up to the nearest pound or adding 10-15% would be common in these establishments.
At a Restaurant
Tipping in restaurants is always done. In many cases, restaurants add an optional 12.5% service charge to the bill, which is the tip. You can choose to pay it or not (though I would certainly suggest paying it!), and if you feel particularly generous you can add more.
When tipping at a restaurant, the average is 10-15%. If you use a credit card, the staff may need you to enter information on a tip into their handheld machine. The options are typically: 10%, 12.5% and 15%, so choose what you’d like.
In a taxi
Tipping a cab driver is again not compulsory, but is a nice thing to do. If the driver has helped you with luggage, etc., you should really tip them, generally a pound a bag or so.
On a standard ride from point A to point B, you can tip if you wish; I generally round the fare to the nearest pound if I do choose to tip. Again, it’s not a problem if you choose not to tip, but it’s certainly appreciated when you do.
Summary
I hope this post has cleared up at least a little bit about tipping in London. (Again, the rest of the UK does vary from region to region.) It will be interesting to read your comments on my thoughts above. I hope you enjoy your visit!
10 Comments
[...] After the flood of comments in regards to tipping below, I’ve now posted a general guide to Tipping in London. I look forward to your comments [...]
Actually, no one in the US who’s legally employed earns less than the minimum wage. That’s why it’s called the minimum wage. So your explanation for why tipping is more common in America isn’t quite right (that said, I have no idea what the right explanation is, besides established norms).
Hello, Tatyana.
Your point gets into the nitty-gritty detail of minimum-wage law. Yes, everyone is paid a legal minimum wage, but for certain professions the legal minimum wage is significantly less than the posted, normal minimum wage.
In the UK, bartenders, waitresses and more get paid the actual minimum wage, and thus aren’t as reliant on tips as they would be in the US.
I hope this clears it up…
Jed
Tatyana,
Waitresses in my area are paid between $2-$3 / hr (which is much less than the minimum wage) because they are expected to make minimum wage by.
More information from the Department of Labor here:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/tipped.htm
Where you can see the the federal minimum cash wage is $2.13 for tipped employes.
Tatyana,
I’m waitress in Boston and I am paid $2.63/hr. This wage is pretty much the same elsewhere in boston. We rely on Tips to make our living. It is very disconcerning when we do not make at least 15-20% on the bill.
Wow Emily I had no idea they payed that much less than minimum. Last I checked the minimum wage for Massachusetts was $7.50/hr.
Just wanted to post an update that I got through my 3 week stay in London with some of your tipping advice
Tipping may certainly not be required in London, but I’ll tell you when they realize you’re tipping 15%-20%, your service changes. This is in contrast to the US where they would be expecting the tip and you’d likely get the same service regardless. They seem to genuinely want to work for it in London. At least the places I frequented while I was there (3wks).
The only “experience” I had was a driver that was taking me and my luggage to the office the morning before my flight. He pulled up about 30ft from me on a gravel road, making me walk over and ask him to back up. When he did, he didn’t get out of the car to help with the luggage, just opened the boot from the inside. Same at the destination, he unlocked the doors and the boot, leaving me to go get my luggage. He made it quite obvious he was waiting for his tip and seemed genuinely surprised when I asked for exact change.
Now I’m a man in my mid twenties and I’m entirely capable of carrying my own luggage – I didn’t mind doing the work, but by the same token I’m also capable of going behind the bar and getting my own drink —- I’m happy to tip, just put at least a drop of effort into it.
For what it’s worth, the driver who brought me to the airport that night with my luggage pulled up, immediately came out and took all my luggage, and did the same at the airport — and then offered me directions on the quickest way to get to my terminal (which was a lifesaver during that whole Terminal 5 fiasco).
[...] clipped from http://www.thelondontraveler.com [...]
If a restaurant bill has a service charge always check to see if the service charge goes to the staff or the owner. Some restaurants use the service charge to top up the staff’s wages to the minimum wage. If the service charge does go to the owner, ask for it to be removed and then tip your waiter/waitress in cash. That way they get all the tip on top of their wages. The union that represents the staff is currently trying to get the law changed so that any service charge is given to the staff in full.
Thanks for the info. I’ll be heading off to London soon and it’s been awhile since I was there so I appreciate your ‘tip’s’.