Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, tronc payments will not be included in the amount paid to furloughed workers

UKHospitality asks the Government to reconsider its decision to exclude tronc payments from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

On March 16, Chancellor Rishi Sunak explained the measures that will be in place to help workers and businesses starting with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. 

Employers who contact HMRC will receive a grant to cover most of the wages of people who are not working but are furloughed and kept on payroll rather than being laid off. Government grants will cover 80% of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month and employers can top up salaries further if they choose to. The scheme will cover the cost of wages back dated to March 1 and will be open initially for at least three months.

But many in the hospitality industry are concerned that the scheme does not include tronc. UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “It is incredibly disappointing that the Government has seen fit to exclude tronc payments from people’s earnings. HMRC will have evidence that employees are paid tips through a tronc, so there seems no reason not to include it in the Job Retention Scheme.

“This is taxable income that team members have earned. Excluding it from the scheme means that furloughed employees will receive less money to see them through this crisis. Money they should be entitled to.

“Hospitality employees put in a huge amount of hard work to earn their tips, often going above and beyond to give customers a fantastic experience. At such a difficult time for the country, people’s hard work should be acknowledged, and those people should be supported. Not doing so only risks putting additional, unnecessary pressure on the welfare system.

“Hospitality businesses are doing their best to support employees during extraordinarily difficult times. But with zero revenue and persistent demands on cash from landlords and others, there is only so much they can do. Including tronc payments in the Job Retention Scheme would give more people some much-needed support, and we hope the Government reconsiders.”