Abstract

Tipping continues as a means of compensating restaurant servers despite the capriciousness and inequities that accompany it. Tipping practices in the Canadian context, such as tip pooling and tipping out, are examined, as well as how regulatory constraints vary from province to province, and between Canada and the United States. This is coupled with an examination of employer abuses, possible remedies, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tipping. Because of the innate unfairness of tipping as a form of compensation, many hope for its abolition. However, regulatory measures to prevent managers’ abuses of tipping are a more viable solution than trying to eradicate tipping. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic is strengthening the custom of tipping, not weakening it.