text: Intermediate 
  Introduction Did you know that, in the UK, there is no legal requirement for restaurants to pass on tips to staff?
  For a new government report, workers, employers and customers were asked about their views on tipping. After reading the report, government ministers said they wanted to change the rules and make sure low-paid workers get the money left for them by happy customers.
  The report said that some waiters are charged up to a 15% administration fee on tips that are left when customers pay by credit or debit cards. The government said it would consider not allowing employers to charge workers an administration fee.
  The government also said that it wanted customers to know that tips are voluntary and they want the system to be more transparent, with restaurants clearly displaying their tips policy.
  We asked waiters around the UK what they think of the tipping process (including how much they take home from tips and whether its fair) and what would improve it for them.
  1. Rodri, 37, London: Around 50% of a waiters income is tips Average tips: 60 per eight-hour shift I think they treat waiters best in ... the US
  Everything has got fairer since the tipping scandal was exposed in the summer of 2015. This is when dozens of restaurants were exposed for taking money from tips for administration fees. However, you still hear horror stories from new employees at some chains. Some restaurants take 4% of all sales to pay the chefs and as an admin fee. It doesnt matter how much you make in tips. This means that, if a table has a 100 bill and doesnt tip, the waiter has to pay 4 of their own money. This leads to bad service. If a table doesnt tip, the waiter feels as if the company is stealing their money and resents the customers.
  I get an average of around 60 of tips per shift. On a good night, this can go up to over 100 and, on a poor night, its around 40. Around 50% of a waiters income is tips. All restaurants should have to publicly state their exact tipping policy. America has it pretty good  everyone tips.
  2. Elle, 22, Edinburgh: We never know whether its fair Average tips: 20 per eight-hour shift I think they treat waiters best in ... France
  I have three part-time catering jobs. My main day job is in a cafe where the small number of staff work both in the cafe and in the kitchen so all our tips go in a pot and they are shared equally. My main evening job is at a restaurant where we dont get our tips but our wages are minimum wage plus an extra 2.50 per hour. My third job is events catering and nobody ever tips.
  In restaurants, because a lot of customers add tips through card payments, the staff never see how much the tip is  so we dont know whether what we get is fair or not. The system seems better in France, where they dont tip much but being a waiter is seen as a proper job, with job security and a decent income.
  3. Ashley, 22, London: Tips go towards customer breakages Average tips: 10-15 per eight-hour shift I think they treat waiters best in ... Australia
  I work in a London pub in the evenings and I do day shifts at a local restaurant. In both places, all the tips are collected and shared out at the end of the night. Money is also taken from the tips to pay for breakages by either staff or customers.
  It is incredibly unfair that our tips are shared out, especially when one member of the team doesnt work hard enough. Or, when a member of the team does incredibly well, they dont get what theyve earned. Its really unfair that tips go towards breakages made by customers. The managers should have ways to pay for broken glasses and plates without taking our tips. I make around 20 a shift in tips but often I only get 10-15 of that money.
  I really rely on tips because I am only paid 7 an hour. Id rather we earned a good basic wage (like in Australia) and didnt have to rely on tips.
  4. Tom, Manchester: A big night of tips can help pay the rent Average tips: 40 per eight-hour shift I think they treat waiters best in ... Italy
  Where I used to work, waiters kept 80% of cash tips and 40% of card tips. The other 20% of cash went into a pot for the commis waiters and bar staff. The 60% from the card tips went to the kitchen staff.
  Its hard to say how much I earned a shift; maybe around 40. It can make a massive change to your weekly  nances. Sometimes, the waiters needed a good night to pay their rent.
  They have got tipping right in Italy, where customers dont add a service charge but usually round up their bill so, if their meal is 19, they leave a 20 note and dont ask for change. They respect the staff. In Italy, people often make a career as a waiter and the experience these waiters have shows in the service the customers get.