Ontario lawmakers should carefully consider a private member’s bill that would prohibit restaurant owners from requiring servers to share tips, two University of Guelph professors say.

Bruce McAdams and Mike von Massow of Guelph’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management say the proposed change could harm Ontario restaurants and the people who work there.

The bill by Toronto-area MP Michael Prue is set to be reintroduced this month. It seeks to amend the Employment Standards Act to ensure that gratuities go entirely to servers.

Allowing wait staff to keep 100 per cent of their tips seems simple and fair, the professors say. But it’s really a complex issue with significant impacts, affecting everything from operations and staff morale to employee trust and the bottom line.

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