Can kitchen staff be included in a restaurant tronc?

Yes. There is no legal bar on back-of-house staff sharing in the tronc, and the Tips Act's fairness requirement makes a total exclusion hard to justify. The allocation must be decided by the independent troncmaster, not by the employer.

Do we have to pass on the whole service charge?

Since 1 October 2024 employers must pass on 100% of qualifying tips and service charge to workers, without deductions other than statutory ones such as PAYE.

How long does it take to set up a restaurant tronc?

Most single-site restaurants are live within two to four weeks: a discovery call, the rules and policy drafted, staff communication, then the first allocation run.

Tronc Schemes for Restaurants

Restaurants carry the hardest version of the tip problem: card service charge, cash tips, front and back of house tension, and high staff turnover. A properly constituted tronc scheme settles who gets what, removes employer and employee National Insurance from qualifying payments, and gives you a written policy that satisfies the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2024.

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The tip challenges specific to restaurants

Front of house vs kitchen

Chefs and kitchen porters can legally share in the tronc, but only if the rules are set by the troncmaster and not imposed by the employer. Getting this wrong is the single most common reason a restaurant tronc loses its NIC treatment.

Card service charge and delivery platform tips

Discretionary service charge, app tips and cash need different handling. We map every income stream, decide what enters the tronc, and document the treatment so a HMRC review has a clear paper trail.

High turnover and part-time rotas

Points-based allocation has to cope with leavers, starters, trial shifts and split roles every single period. We run the calculation each cycle from your rota or till export so nobody is missed.

How we run the tronc for your restaurant

1Map all tip and service-charge income streams and agree what enters the tronc
2Draft the tronc rules and the written tipping policy required by the Tips Act
3Set the points matrix across front of house, kitchen and support roles
4Run the monthly allocation from rota and till data, independently of the employer
5Issue payroll instructions with the correct NIC treatment and keep three years of records

We act as independent troncmaster, so the scheme sits outside your payroll department and qualifies for the National Insurance treatment HMRC allows.

Typical allocation model

Points per hour worked, weighted by role and section, with a service-quality element where the site wants one.

What the NIC saving looks like

A restaurant distributing £150,000 a year in service charge typically saves in the region of £20,000 in employer National Insurance once the tronc is properly independent.

Services restaurants use most

Restaurants: tronc FAQs

Can kitchen staff be included in a restaurant tronc?: Yes. There is no legal bar on back-of-house staff sharing in the tronc, and the Tips Act's fairness requirement makes a total exclusion hard to justify. The allocation must be decided by the independent troncmaster, not by the employer.
Do we have to pass on the whole service charge?: Since 1 October 2024 employers must pass on 100% of qualifying tips and service charge to workers, without deductions other than statutory ones such as PAYE.
How long does it take to set up a restaurant tronc?: Most single-site restaurants are live within two to four weeks: a discovery call, the rules and policy drafted, staff communication, then the first allocation run.

Talk to an independent troncmaster

We act as independent troncmaster for restaurants across the UK — designing the rules, running the allocation and keeping the records the Tips Act and HMRC require. Book a free 20-minute review of your current arrangement.

Book a free tronc review

Tronc for other venue types

New to tronc? Start with what is a tronc scheme or how to set one up.