Total and Partial Unemployment TPU 460.63

Tips

All tips are wages. They are given in exchange for a service and therefore come under the definition of wages as contained in Sections 1252 and 1279 of the Code.

Tips are normally received by an individual in one of three ways. First, the patron can give an amount of money directly to the individual after having received the individual’s services. Second, the patron can charge the services he receives and include in the charge a tip to the individual who had served him. The amount designated would then be given to the individual by the employer upon payment of the bill.

The third type of tip is the kind that often occurs with banquet waiters. This type of tip often is not given to the individual at the time the service is performed, but is held and given to the individual at a later date after the employer has paid all connected expenses. Often the amount of the tip is not known to the claimant until time of payment. In these cases where the claimant has tried but cannot ascertain the amount of the tip prior to certifying for the week of performance, the tip should be allocated to the week it actually is received. However, the Board in Precedent Benefit Decision No. 22 held that when the amount of the banquet tip is known, but it is not received at the time the work is performed, it must be allocated to the week of performance.