How to Jump into the Tip Pool Safely

There is little question that in the foodservice industry, service workers earn most of their income through tips. It has been estimated that on a national average, in full-service restaurants, servers earn 58 percent of their income through tips, while in counter-service establishments, 61 percent of the servers' earnings are tips. Not only is tipping the norm in many foodservice settings, it is also a common practice in many eating and drinking establishments to pool or split tips among employees.

In some instances, the "tip pool" is simply a fish bowl with a handwritten note taped on the side with the designation "TIPS" or a pithy statement like "Instant Karma." In other establishments, there is a more sophisticated system of collection and distribution with elaborate records and significant management involvement. While little can be done to prevent employees from entering into informal arrangements to split tips among each other, do you want to have a formal or mandatory system for the sharing of tips? The answer to this question depends upon a number of factors.