Tipping in Britain is lower, narrower and far less anxious than in the United States. The single most important structural fact is that British staff are paid at least the full minimum wage before any tips — there is no separate lower “tipped wage”. A tip here tops up a wage; it does not constitute one.
The practical list
- Restaurants with table service — around 10-12%. Check the bill first: many add a “discretionary service charge” of 12.5%, in which case you do not tip again.
- Pubs — nothing. You order and pay at the bar and take your own drinks. This is the rule visitors most often break.
- Pub food ordered at the bar — nothing expected, though a tip for good table service is fine.
- Taxis and minicabs — round up to the nearest pound, or about 10% for a longer journey.
- Hairdressers — around 10%, optional.
- Hotels — a couple of pounds for porters if they carry bags. Housekeeping tipping is uncommon.
- Coffee shops, bakeries, takeaways, fast food — nothing. Tip jars exist and are for loose change.
- Deliveries — a pound or two, appreciated but not expected.
- Bar staff — instead of a tip, offer “and one for yourself” when ordering. They will add the price of a drink to your round. This is the traditional and still-appreciated form.
The service charge
Adding a service charge to restaurant bills is now common, particularly in cities, and it is always discretionary — you are legally entitled to ask for it to be removed, and staff will do so without argument if the service was poor. Most people leave it.
Since 2024 the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act requires that all tips and service charges go to staff in full, and employers may no longer take a share. Before that, some chains retained part of the service charge or used it to top up wages, which caused several public scandals.
Card tips and cash tips now both reach staff, so there is no longer much practical reason to insist on cash.
Why it is different
Beyond wage law, there is a cultural element. Elaborate tipping sits awkwardly with British discomfort about money, and overtipping can read as showing off rather than generosity. Staff will not chase you, will not comment, and will not treat a standard tip as an insult.
The corollary is that service is generally less effusive than in America. British waiting staff check on you less, refill nothing automatically, and will not introduce themselves by name. This is not indifference — it is the same instinct as everything else here, which is a reluctance to intrude.
The one place to be generous
If someone has genuinely gone out of their way — a long detour, a table found at short notice, a problem sorted — a proper tip and saying so directly is both welcome and unusual enough to be remembered. It is the exception that proves how relaxed the rest of it is.