Coronavirus could mark the end of tipping at bars and restaurants, Greater Manchester's night time economy adviser has warned.
Sacha Lord is calling for a 'fair tipping policy' to be introduced to support hospitality workers.
He says many employees receive the minimum wage, and rely on tips to boost their earnings.
Mr Lord, the co-founder of The Warehouse Project and Parklife festival, says the decline in people using cash and reduced interaction between customers and staff due to the virus could cause a decline in tips.
He says there should be a code of conduct for hospitality businesses.
Mr Lord said: "Not only has Covid all but killed off cash, but the social distancing measures in place means less interaction between waiting staff and customers.
"It's likely we'll see a serious decline if not the end of tipping because of this.
"Bar and restaurant staff typically earn minimum or less than living wage, and rely on tips to top up their salaries.
"Tips can mean the difference between walking home after work and getting an Uber, so there's a clear safety aspect for operators to acknowledge if we do see a decline."
He said tipping using a bank card is less transparent than tipping in cash.
He added: "Many operators don't pass on service charges to staff as a standard procedure, instead using them to top up the bottom line or subsidise chef salaries.
"As customers, we need to ask 'do you get to keep this?' every time we see the words service charge on our bills. If it's not going to those providing the service, we need to question why we're paying it."
His intervention comes as pubs and restaurants have been able to re-open and serve outdoors since Monday.
"Hospitality needs to operate fairly and introduce standards across the board including fair distribution," Mr Lord added.
"It’s inevitable tipping will decline at the same rate as the US, and we need to look at ways of raising employee pay, such as price increases, so that tips become bonuses not essential substitutes for low salaries."
Mr Lord's proposal is being supported by the trade union Unite.
Dave Turnbull, the union's national officer for hospitality, said: "Some years ago, the government pledged that they would bring forward ‘fair tips’ legislation, but this seems to have fallen off the radar due to the pandemic – now, as we enter the post-Covid world, is the time to resurrect this embryonic legislation."
