Late-night venues combine table service charge on bottle service, VIP host gratuities, high casual headcount and door teams — often across multiple rooms on one licence. That mix needs a documented, independently administered tronc rather than a manager's spreadsheet.
VIP and bottle-service gratuities: High-value table service charge concentrates tips around a small group of hosts. Deciding how much stays with the section and how much pools is a rules question, and the rules must be the troncmaster's.
Casual and agency staffing: Weekend-only staff, promoters and agency door teams all need a defined position in the allocation. Agency workers are in scope under the Tips Act.
Compressed trading weeks: Three trading nights a week makes hours-based allocation volatile. Shift-weighted points smooth this without penalising staff on quieter nights.
Typical allocation model: Split model: a defined share retained by the serving section, the balance pooled by shift-weighted points.
Late-night venues distributing £250,000 a year in service charge can release around £34,000 of employer NIC annually.
Can door staff be included? Yes, including agency door teams — the Tips Act specifically brings agency workers into scope, and the allocation rules must state how they are treated.
Can we run weekly rather than monthly allocations? Yes. We run allocations on whatever payroll cycle you use, including weekly, which suits venues with a high proportion of casual staff.
Is bottle-service gratuity a tip or a service charge? It depends on whether it is discretionary and how it is presented on the bill. We review your bill wording, because it determines the treatment.