Part V.1 prohibits employers from withholding their employees’ tips or other gratuities, making a deduction from their employees' tips or other gratuities, and causing their employees to return or give their tips or other gratuities to the employer, except in specified circumstances.

Section 14.1 – Definition - Repealed

Section 14.2 – Prohibition re tips and other gratuities

Prohibition re Tips or Other Gratuities - s. 14.2(1)

Scheme of Part V.1

Part V.1 prohibits, an employer from withholding an employee’s tips or other gratuities, making a deduction from them, or causing the employee to return or to give them to the employer, with the following exceptions:

  • a statute of Ontario or Canada or a court order authorizes it (s. 14.3), or
  • the employer collects and redistributes tips or other gratuities among some or all of the employer’s employees (s. 14.4)

Where an employer contravenes this prohibition, the remedy is set out in s. 14.2(2): the employer must pay the amount that was unlawfully withheld/deducted/returned/given. This payment is to be made in favour of the employee(s) to whom the customer intended to give the tip. The amount owing is enforceable under the ESA as if it were wages owing to the employee(s).

To illustrate: s. 14.4 allows employers to withhold or make a deduction from an employee’s tips or other gratuities or cause the employee to return or give them to the employer if the employer collects and redistributes tips or other gratuities among some or all of its employees, subject to certain exceptions established under that subsection.  Take an example where an employer has a tip pool policy that provides for a portion of waiters’ tips to be distributed to all kitchen staff.  One night, the employer withheld a percentage of the waiters’ tips as per usual but only redistributed them to the cooks and kept the amount that otherwise would have gone to the dishwashing employees. Assuming this employer does not have the right to participate in the tip pool, the employer has contravened s. 14.2(1).  The contravention does not stem from the fact the employer did not adhere to the terms of its tip pool.  It stems from the fact that the employer, having withheld the waiters’ tips, did not redistribute some of them in accordance with s. 14.4.  In this example, the employer did not have the right to participate in the tip pool and as such would have had to distribute all of the withheld tips to employees in order to fit itself within the s. 14.4 exception and avoid a contravention of s. 14.2(1).   The remedy is as per s. 14.2(2): the amounts unlawfully withheld from each waiter (i.e. the amount the employer kept) is a debt owing to each waiter and the amounts owing are enforceable under the Act as if the debts were “wages”.  The dishwashing employees do not have an enforceable claim under the ESA for any amounts they may have otherwise received if the tips were redistributed in accordance with the tip pool policy.    

Employers are not required under the ESA to provide employees with written statements regarding tips or other gratuities. 

Subsection 14.2(1)

This provision prohibits employers from withholding an employee's tips or other gratuities, making a deduction from employees' tips or other gratuities, or causing employees to return or to give their tips or other gratuities to the employer unless authorized to do so under Part V.1.

For the balance of this chapter, reference is generally made only to an employer withholding employees’ tips or other gratuities, but the discussion should be understood as also addressing an employer making a deduction from employees’ tips or other gratuities as well as an employer causing employees’ tips or other gratuities to be returned or to be given to the employer.

See s. 1(1) for the definition of the term “tips or other gratuities”.  

The only circumstances in which an employer may withhold an employee’s tips or other gratuities as authorized under Part V.1 are:

  • a statute of Ontario or Canada or a court order authorizes it (s. 14.3), or
  • the employer collects and redistributes tips or other gratuities among some or all of the employer’s employees (s. 14.4)

Outside of these circumstances, employers are prohibited under the Act from withholding their employees’ tips or other gratuities. Among other things, this means that employers are prohibited from withholding their employees' tips or other gratuities for things such as breakage, spillage, losses or damage. Employees cannot provide written authorization or any other form of consent to have their tips or other gratuities withheld.  (Note that, in this respect, the prohibition against withholding tips or other gratuities is different than the prohibition against deductions that applies to wages in s. 13 of the Act.)

Payment / Redistribution of Tips or Other Gratuities

The question may arise as to how much time the employer has to pay or redistribute the tips or other gratuities before it can be said that the employer has failed to do so and is therefore in contravention of s. 14.2. There is no requirement in the Act for employers to establish a recurring period and day for the distribution of tips or other gratuities to employees. It is Program policy that the employer has a reasonable period of time to distribute the tips. What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. For example, where an employee experiences a delay in getting their tips, the length of the delay and the reason for the delay are relevant factors in determining whether there has been a withholding of tips or other gratuities contrary to s. 14.2(1).

The Act does not set out the method(s) by which an employer must distribute tips or other gratuities to employees. However, the method used cannot result in a withholding of, or deduction from, tips or other gratuities in contravention of s. 14.2(1). For example, where the payment method mandated by the employer imposes limits on an employee’s ability to access their tips or other gratuities within a reasonable period of time, it’s Program Policy that this will constitute a withholding of those tips or other gratuities. Whether a payment method constitutes a withholding of, or a deduction from, tips or other gratuities will depend on all the circumstances and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Enforcement - s. 14.2(2)

This provision states that where an employer contravenes s. 14.2(1) (i.e. by withholding an employees’ tips or other gratuities in circumstances other than the two that are permitted by s. 14.3 or s. 14.4), the amount of the unlawfully withheld tips or other gratuities is a debt owing to the employee(s) and is to be treated as if it were “wages” under the ESA for purposes of enforcement.  Treating the debt in this context as if it were “wages” is necessary for enforcement purposes because tips or other gratuities are not “wages” as per the s. 1(1) definition of “wages”.  Without this treatment, the tips or other gratuities owing to the employee would not enforceable under the ESA.

As stated above under “Scheme of Part V.1”, only the employee whose tips or other gratuities were withheld, deducted, returned or given has a remedy under the ESA (i.e e. the employee(s) to whom the customer made or left a tip).  There is no remedy under the ESA for other employees who may be on the receiving end of a distribution of a tip pool and who, for example, do not receive tip redistribution in accordance with the tip pool.

Although tips or other gratuities are to be treated as if they were wages owing to the employee for the purposes of enforcement, they are not to be treated as wages for any other purposes under the ESA.  Accordingly, an order to pay wages for tips or other gratuities owing to an employee will not attract vacation pay.

Section 14.3 – Statute or court order

Statute or court order - s. 14.3(1)

This provision allows employers to withhold or make a deduction from an employee’s tips or other gratuities or cause the employee to return or give them to the employer if a statute of Ontario or Canada or a court order authorizes it.

This provision must be read in conjunction with the exception in s.14.3(2), which states that this provision does not apply if the statute or order requires the employer to remit the withheld, deducted, returned or given tips or other gratuities to a third person and the employer fails to do so.

Statute of Ontario or Canada

The most frequently encountered deductions authorized by statute are for income tax, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions and employment insurance (EI) premiums. An Employment Standards Officer should check with the Canada Revenue Agency if an employee alleges that deductions made by the employer in purported compliance with income tax, CPP or EI legislation were not authorized.

Court Order

This provision states that an employer may withhold or make a deduction from an employee's tips or other gratuities "if a . . . court order authorizes it." It is Program policy that a withholding or deduction is allowed under s.14.3(1) only if a court order explicitly authorizes it. It is not enough that the employer is in possession of a court judgment declaring that the employee owes a debt to his or her employer.

Exception - s.14.3(2)

Section 14.3(2) provides that the authority in subsection (1) for an employer to withhold or make a deduction from an employee’s tips or other gratuities if a statute or court order authorizes it does not apply if the statute or court order requires the employer to remit the amounts to a third person and the employer fails to do so.

For example, an employer may make statutory deductions for income tax, CPP or EI but fail to remit the funds on the employee's behalf to the Canada Revenue Agency as required. 1),    Where the employer fails to remit the deducted tips or other gratuities, the requirement in ss.14.3(2) is not met and the deduction is not permitted pursuant to ss.14.3(1).  As such, the employer is in violation of s.14.2(1) since the deduction was not authorized under this Part.  Per s.14.2(2) the amount deducted is a debt owing to the employee and is enforceable under the ESA as if it were wages owing to the employee. 

Section 14.4 – Pooling of Tips or Other Gratuities

Pooling of Tips or Other Gratuities - s. 14.4(1)

Subsection 14.2(1) prohibits employers from withholding employees’ tips or other gratuities unless authorized to do so under Part V.1. This provision – s. 14.4(1) - authorizes employers to withhold employees’ tips or other gratuities if the employer collects and redistributes them among some or all of the employer’s employees. (This is commonly referred to as a “tip pool”.)

Tip pools include what is referred to as “tip outs”, which are payments made from a tip-earning employee to a non tip-earning employee pursuant to their employer's policy. For example, an employer's policy may require a waiter to “tip out” a certain percentage of the waiter’s tips or sales to the bartender who prepared drinks for the waiter.

This provision must be read in conjunction with subsections 14.4 (2) - (5), which place some restrictions on the ability of employers, directors and shareholders to participate in the redistribution under subsection 14.4(1).

See s. 14.2(1) for information about the timing of and methods of payment for the distribution of tips and other gratuities.

The criteria in this provision are not met unless “the employer collects and redistributes tips or other gratuities among some or all of the employer's employees”. This means, for example, that where the only person to share in the tip pool is the sole proprietor who owns the business, there will be a violation of s. 14.2(1) because the tips that were withheld were not redistributed among some or all of the sole proprietor's employees.

Other than the limitations on participation in the tip pool that are established in subsections 14.4 (2) - (5) for the purposes of determining whether the withholding of tips is authorized under subsection 14.4(1), the Act does not regulate tip pools. For example, the Act:

  • does not require a tip pool to be in the workplace,
  • does not regulate who will participate in a tip pool,
  • does not address the specific distribution within the tip pool (e.g., the percentage or amount received by employees),
  • does not regulate how and when an employer can change the tip pool arrangement,
  • does not require that tip pool arrangements be in writing,
  • does not require that there be written agreements from employees in order for an employer to withhold an employee’s tips for purposes of redistributing them as part of a tip pool.

Exception to Pooling of Tips or Other Gratuities - s. 14.4(2)

As of the publication date, no employees are prescribed.

Employer, etc. Not to Share in Tips or Other Gratuities - s. 14.4(3)

Subject to s. 14.4(4) and (5), employers, or directors or shareholders of an employer, are prohibited from sharing in the proceeds of a tip pool redistribution.

However, the Act does not prohibit employers, or directors or shareholders of an employer from keeping any tips or other gratuities that they earn themselves (e.g., tips or other gratuities that a customer intended them to receive). For example, a director of a company that operates a bar often works as a bartender at the bar. The Act does not prohibit the director from keeping tips that were left by a customer in such circumstances that a reasonable person would be likely to infer were intended for the director.

Exception - Sole proprietor, Partner - s. 14.4(4)

“Regularly Performs to a Substantial Degree”

"Regularly" implies that the performance of the work is routine and predictable.

"[T]o a substantial degree" implies that the performance of the work takes up a considerable amount of the sole proprietor or partner's time.

The issue of whether a sole proprietor or a partner in a partnership regularly performs to a substantial degree the same work is determined on a case-by-case basis considering all of the relevant factors, including how routinely they perform the work and the predictability of its performance.

For example, if a sole proprietor who works eight hours per day waited tables every day for five hours during the lunch rush and the dinner rush, the Program would take the position that the sole proprietor was regularly performing those duties to a substantial degree.

However, if a partner acted as a bartender only when there was an unexpected rush of customers or when an employee called in sick and if neither of those events were a regular occurrence, the performance of these duties may not be considered regular because they are performed on an irregular and unpredictable basis. Similarly, if a partner who works 10 hours per day acted as a bartender for one hour per shift, these duties may not be considered performed to a substantial degree.

The Same Work Performed by Some or All of the Employees Who Share in the Redistribution

A sole proprietor or partner may share in the tip pool if they regularly perform to a substantial degree the same work as some or all of their employees who share in the tip pool.

For example, if the employees who receive a portion of the tip pool are hosts, servers, cooks and dishwashers, a sole proprietor or partner could share in the tip pool if they regularly performed the duties of hosts, servers, cooks or dishwashers, or a combination thereof, to a substantial degree.

The same work performed by employees of other employers who commonly receive tips or whare in tip

A sole proprietor or partner who does not regularly perform to a substantial degree the same work performed by some or all of the employees who share in the tip pool may nevertheless share in it if they regularly perform to a substantial degree the same work performed by employees of other employers in the same industry who commonly receive or share tips or other gratuities.

For example, a sole proprietor operates a restaurant in which the sole proprietor is the only bartender. Every day the sole proprietor spends six out of ten working hours bartending. The sole proprietor would be able to share in the tip pool because the sole proprietor regularly performs to a substantial degree the work of a bartender and bartenders in other restaurants commonly receive tips or share in the redistribution of tips or other gratuities.

Exception - Director, Shareholder - s. 14.4(5)

Subsection 14.4(3) prohibits directors and shareholders of an employer from sharing in the proceeds of a redistribution of a tip pool, subject to the exception set out in this subsection.

This subsection provides that a director or shareholder of an employer may share in the proceeds of a redistribution of a tip pool if the director or shareholder regularly performs to a substantial degree the same work that is performed by:

  • some or all of the employees who share in the redistribution or
  • employees of other employers in the same industry who commonly receive or share tips or other gratuities.

“Regularly Performs to a Substantial Degree”

"Regularly" implies that the performance of the work is routine and predictable.

"[T]o a substantial degree" implies that the performance of the work takes up a considerable amount of the director or shareholder's time. The issue of whether a director or a shareholder regularly performs to a substantial degree the same work is to be determined on a case-by-case basis considering all of the relevant factors, including how routinely they perform the work and the predictability of its performance.

For example, if a shareholder who works eight hours per day waited tables every day for five hours during the lunch rush and the dinner rush, the Program would take the position that the shareholder was regularly performing those duties to a substantial degree.

However, if a director acted as a bartender only when there was an unexpected rush of customers or when an employee called in sick and if neither of those events were a regular occurrence, the performance of these duties may not be considered regular because they are performed on an irregular and unpredictable basis. Similarly, if a director who works 10 hours per day acted as a bartender for one hour per shift, these duties may not be considered performed to a substantial degree.

The same work performed by some or All of the employees who share in the redistribution

A director or shareholder may share in redistribution of the tip pool if they regularly perform to a substantial degree the same work as some or all of their employees who are part of the tip pool.

For example, if the employees who receive a portion of the tip pool are hosts, servers, cooks and dishwashers, a director or shareholder could share in the tip pool if they regularly perform the duties of hosts, servers, cooks or dishwashers, or a combination thereof to a substantial degree.

The same work performed by employees of other employers who commonly receive tips or share in their redistribution

A director or shareholder who does not regularly perform to a substantial degree the same work performed by some or all of the employees who share in the tip pool may nonetheless share in it if they regularly perform to a substantial degree the same work performed by employees of other employers in the same industry who commonly receive or share tips or other gratuities.

For example, a director works at a restaurant in which the director is the only bartender. Every day the director spends six of ten working hours bartending. The director would be able to share in the tip pool because the director is regularly performing to a substantial degree the work of a bartender and bartenders in other restaurants commonly receive tips or other gratuities.

Section 14.5 – Transition – Collective Agreements

Section 14.5 establishes transitional rules for situations where a collective agreement that was in effect when Part V.1 came into force contains provisions re: tips and other gratuities that conflict with Part V.1.

Part V.1 came into force on June 10, 2016.

Transition - Collective Agreements - s. 14.5(1)

This subsection states that a term of a collective agreement that was in force on June 10, 2016 that addresses the treatment of employee tips or other gratuities will prevail over Part V.1 if there is a conflict.

For example, if a collective agreement that was ratified in June 2013 and in force on June 10, 2016 contained a provision that required employees to give half of all tips earned to the employer for the employer to keep, that provision would prevail even though such an arrangement would otherwise be prohibited under Part V.1.

Same - Expiry of Agreement - s. 14.5(2)

This subsection states that where a collective agreement described in subsection (1) expires but the collective agreement provision addressing the treatment of employee tips or other gratuities remains in effect, subsection (1) (which allows that collective agreement provision to prevail over Part V.1 if there is a conflict) continues to apply with necessary modifications until a new or renewal collective agreement comes into effect.

For example, a collective agreement was ratified in June 2013 and in force June 1, 2016 that contained a provision that required employees to give half of all tips earned to the employer for the employer to keep. The collective agreement expired on August 1, 2016 and the provisions that address the treatment of tips or other gratuities remained in effect until the new agreement came into effect on October 1, 2016. That provision prevailed over Part V.1 until October 1, 2016 even though such an arrangement would otherwise be prohibited under Part V.1.

Same - Renewed or New Agreement - s. 14.5(3)

This subsection provides that subsection (1), which allows provisions in a collective agreement that conflict with Part V.1 to prevail, does not apply to collective agreements made or renewed on or after June 10, 2016.

In other words, terms of collective agreements that came into effect on or after June 10, 2016 that address the treatment of employee tips or other gratuities must comply with Part V.1 of the Act.