The news follows an initial proposal two years ago, when government looked into a string of claims that companies were deducting money from serving staff, including Bella Italia, Giraffe and Pizza Express, the Guardian reports.

Although they are said to have stopped, May said: “That’s why we will introduce tough new legislation to ensure that workers get to keep all of their tips – banning employers from making any deductions.”

Dave Turnbull, regional officer at trade union Unite, added: “This step in tackling tipping abuses has been a long time coming and is in no small part down to the determined campaigning of Unite and its members.

“Unite will be seeking assurances from ministers that the legislation the government introduces truly delivers fair tips for some of the lowest paid workers in the UK, and that it is done so in a timely manner.”

However, trade body UKHospitality warns that the new rule is ‘an unnecessary burden’ and that it already undertakes voluntary measures to ensure ‘fair practice.’

Chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “The hospitality sector took immediate voluntary action to improve transparency and address concerns around the treatment of tips when the issue was first raised.

“UKHospitality and Unite have developed an industry Code of Practice which deals with the fair distribution of tips among all staff, not just waiters. As a result, best practice has been widely promoted across the sector.

“Some smaller businesses may retain a small proportion of tips to cover the costs of credit card charges and processing payments - but this is a small amount and the practice has been approved by Unite.

“At a time when costs are mounting for operators in the sector, the Government must be careful about introducing additional legislation. There is no evidence that further legislation, which may have unforeseen consequences for staff, is necessary at this time.”