Hospitality Workers Emergency Fund relaunched ahead of Christmas

Cashless tipping platform Tipjar has relaunched its Hospitality Workers Emergency Fund in partnership with charity Hospitality Action, enabling the public to donate ‘tips’ to support vulnerable people in the sector.

The not-for-profit scheme previously raised more than £50,000 in urgent grant money for the hardest hit staff who were facing redundancies, job loss and financial hardship during the first lockdown.

This year, the goal is to raise funds using the Tipjar platform and Hospitality Action will identify those who need help the most and give them a grant of £250.

According to UKHospitality, businesses have already lost 40% to 60% of December trade due to the latest wave of cancellations, no-shows and closures. Tipjar's data also suggested that hospitality staff are due to lose over £60m in tips during the month of December alone.

Ben Thomas, chief executive of Tipjar, said: “These statistics are crippling for the millions of workers that rely on these tips to pay their rent, feed themselves, or feed their families.”

James Brown, who founded Tipjar in 2019, added: “We have created ‘The Hospitality Workers Emergency Fund’ to allow the kind hearted, altruistic and caring UK public to donate towards supporting the workforce our industry relies on.

“The government’s £1b support announcement aims to help businesses, but doesn’t give staff any surety or protection.

“With Christmas only a few days away, we want to do everything we can to help. These are our people. This is our cause.”

Tipjar said that that 100% of donations will make it to the those in need.

To donate, visit:

• Donate England
• Donate Scotland
• Donate Wales
• Donate Northern Ireland