Tipping event staff in the UK is a thank you, not an obligation. Here is the etiquette, the difference between a tip and a service charge, what the law has required since October 2024, and how to make sure the money reaches the people who worked.
In the UK, staff at a private event, a wedding or an office party are paid for the shift by whoever employs them. A tip is not expected, and nobody working a well-run event should be relying on one. If the team has made your day, a tip is a generous way to say so, and it is always noticed.
There is no fixed amount. A simple approach is a round sum for each person who worked, rather than a percentage of the bill, because an event staffing invoice is mostly wages. Some hosts hand an envelope to the person running the team at the end of the night and ask them to share it. Others prefer to thank each person directly. Both are fine.
A tip is money a guest or host chooses to give, in cash or on a card. A service charge is an amount added to the bill by the business, often a discretionary percentage in restaurants. A discretionary service charge can be removed if you ask. A compulsory one should be made clear before you book.
If your venue or caterer adds a service charge to the event bill, it is fair to ask how it is shared, and whether the agency staff who worked alongside the house team are included. The law below applies to service charges the business controls, not just to tips.
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and its statutory code of practice came into force on 1 October 2024. Where an employer controls or influences how tips and service charges are shared, it must pass them all on to workers, with no deductions other than the usual tax and National Insurance. It must share them fairly, following the code, and pay them no later than the end of the month after the month the tips were received.
According to Acas, an employer that receives tips more than occasionally must have a written tipping policy and make it available to all workers, including agency workers. It must keep records of tips for three years, and a worker can ask to see them once every three months, with a reply due within four weeks.
Cash tips handed straight to a worker, which the employer has no control over, are outside the law and the code. They are simply the worker's.
Acas also notes that further changes from the Employment Rights Act 2025, including consulting workers on tipping policies, are due to come into effect by the end of 2026. If you run a venue, check the current Acas guidance before you write or update your policy.
Agency workers are covered. Acas guidance says a business should treat agency workers the same way as its own staff when it shares tips. It can pay their share directly, at the same time as everyone else, or pay it to the agency, which must then pass it on no later than the end of the month after it received it.
If you are a host rather than a venue, the simplest way to be sure a tip reaches the team is to give it to them directly, in cash on the night or by asking the person running the team to share it in front of everyone. If you would rather add a gratuity to an agency invoice, ask the agency in writing how and when it will reach the workers, and whether anything is deducted.
Our people are paid £14.00 an hour plus holiday pay at Core, above the National Living Wage of £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over from April 2026. We set pay that way so that a shift is worth doing on its own. A tip is a thank you for a good night, never a top-up to make the job pay.
If you are budgeting for an event, put your effort into the staffing line first. The cost guide shows what an hourly rate pays for, and our rate card shows what we pay and what you pay, side by side.
You do not have to. Staff are paid for the shift. If you want to say thank you, a round sum per person, handed to the team on the night, is the simplest way to make sure it reaches them.
No. A tip is chosen by the guest. A service charge is added by the business. Both are covered by the tipping law where the business controls how they are shared.
Yes, since 1 October 2024, where the employer controls or influences them. They must be passed on in full, less only tax and National Insurance, shared fairly and paid by the end of the following month.
They should. Acas guidance says businesses should treat agency workers the same as their own staff, paying them directly or through the agency, which must pass the money on by the end of the following month.
Not if the worker keeps them and the employer has no control over them. Those tips simply belong to the worker.
See the whole rate card and the instant estimate, or start a full quote. Looking for shifts yourself? Work with us.
What event staff cost, three worked examples and a budget checklist, as a PDF you can forward.
One email with the PDF. No newsletter unless you ask. Unsubscribe any time.
If it did not open, download it here.
We will reply within 60 minutes between 8am and 8pm, or first thing tomorrow. Want it faster? Message us on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp usYour brief lands with Tasmyn or Liam, not a queue. A written quote within 60 minutes (8am to 8pm) and a call if anything needs clarifying. A named mobile is given to every client at booking.
Every person paid through our PAYE payroll, so you carry no status risk. Right-to-work checks before day one. Employers' Liability £10m, Public Liability £10m. Certificates with your first confirmation.
Keep them. Use us for the shifts they cannot fill, or the ones that matter most. Overflow is where most first clients start.
Short on people for a big weekend? We supply overflow to other agencies on the same published terms.