By alisonbarlow|Jun 20, 2024|12:25 pm BST

At Fourth, we are constantly evolving our Payroll solution to ensure our customers can stay compliant with the latest legislation. Our recent Level Up product release includes everything you need to stay compliant with October’s new Allocation of Tips Act. This is just one of 15+ updates we have made to our HR & Payroll solution in 2024 in response to new legislation.

Legislative updates have come thick and fast over the last few years. With each introduction or amendment, the cost of remaining compliant increases – as does the administrative burden associated with managing payroll. Employers have already had to manage April’s national minimum wage updates, which set new rates across the board and saw the National Living Wage expanded to include under 21s. Remaining compliant wasn’t simply a case of increasing pay rates but thoroughly reviewing the pay structure for all employees to ensure benefits, overtime, or uniform expenses didn’t see workers paid less than the new threshold.

Now, October’s tipping legislation is looming large. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 introduces a host of new rights for workers, increasing employer obligations around record keeping and policy setting and adding various criteria to the distribution of Tronc. As of October, operators will need to pay tips within one calendar month of receiving them, administer tips to agency workers, ensure employees receive 100% of tips, and provide three years’ worth of records on tronc distribution.

Incoming tipping legislation creates a huge administrative burden for operators already under pressure from staffing shortages and increased labour costs. Even operators currently paying staff all of their tips will have to make adjustments to meet new obligations around formal written policies, staff rights, distribution, and record keeping. At a recent webinar hosted by The Caterer, UK Hospitality’s John Guthrie said the trade body estimated that the Allocation of Tips Act would cost employers £150m.

Staying on top of tips

Fourth’s Payroll solutions are trusted by some of the biggest brands in the UK hospitality industry, and our new Level Up product release gives customers all the tools they need to manage changing regulations and remain compliant while mitigating the additional administrative burden introduced by new legislation.

Fourth payroll enables hospitality operators to automate Tronc distribution in line with agreed policies, providing reassurance that tips are distributed fairly and enabling the implementation of new processes at scale. The features are designed to help customers avoid common submission mistakes around Tronc, such as submitting days out of sequence or zero fund allocation.

Record keeping is a critical change coming into effect in October, and Fourth Payroll includes updates to assist with managing this, including quickly exportable reports on agency Tronc amounts.

As you’d expect from a leading Payroll services provider, Fourth’s payroll solution includes upgrades that support teams in managing all aspects of changing payroll legislation, not just new obligations introduced with The Tipping Act. From calculating holiday entitlement to carer’s leave, NI rates and paternity leave, Fourth helps payroll teams streamline processes, lessen the administrative burden and reduce delays.

Precision Payroll

Legislative changes are putting additional pressure on hospitality teams, making it tricky to know exactly what is required. Fourth’s latest Payroll updates provide much-needed support in navigating this environment. It includes a range of features to streamline and automate processes to help hospitality operators manage the complexities of changing payroll legislation quickly, efficiently, and compliantly.