Leeds diners dubbed UK's most generous tippers

The survey of 1,925 people about their leisure spending habits, found that only 63 per cent were happy to tip for good service with the average amount left in tips across restaurants in the UK just £1.50. Only 8 per cent of those surveyed said they'd leave 10 per cent of the bill as a tip.

In Leeds, 65 per cent of diners said they regularly tipped staff for good service while only 18 per cent of diners in Swansea pay a service charge. Other bad cities to work in for restaurant workers hoping to earn tips include Edinburgh, Coventry and Glasgow.

"Incidentally, some of our biggest traffic to MyVoucherCodes comes from these cities, meaning that despite the fact people from these areas may seem stingy; it may just be their frugality and discount-savviness being misunderstood," said MyVoucherCodes managing director Mark Pearson.

Imposed service charges​

The main excuse for diners not leaving a tip was the imposed service charge added on to bills with 72 per cent saying it deterred them. Seventeen per cent said they didn't tip to save money and 11 per cent said they disagreed with the practise of tipping.

MyVoucherCodes' findings back up those in a survey by Livebookings last October​ which also showed that almost half of diners would avoid returning to a restaurant that automatically added an optional service charge to their bill.

Some restaurants, such as those within D&D London's estate and the No.20 restaurant at Sanctum Soho in London have already made changes to their tipping policy and abandoned discretionary service charges, allowing customers to choose the amount they wish to tip.

Changes to the law last October made it illegal for businesses to use tips to top up wages to the minimum wage, but restaurants are still be urged to make their tip policies more transparent to ensure reapeat trade after a survey by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills found that 61 per cent of diners​ are unsure of where their money goes when they leave a tip.

The worst UK cities for tipping are:

Swansea – 18%
Edinburgh – 19%
Coventry – 22%
Glasgow – 25%
Manchester – 26%
Newcastle – 28%
Bristol – 30%
Nottingham – 34%
Cardiff – 35%
Stoke-on-Trent – 38%