Legal Question in Employment Law in Illinois

Gratuities vs. Commission

Can the two be used interchangeable when determining compensation?

We have a Banquet Manager who in hourly that we want to put on Salary. She gets paid a commission on groups she services, and takes part in the gratuity pool with her employees.

Typically, the commission and the gratuity are a standard 16% of the Banquet Ticket.

Any thoughts?


Asked on 5/20/03, 2:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Kenneth J. Ashman Ashman Law Offices, LLC

Re: Gratuities vs. Commission

Absent some sort of employment contract that you have with this employee, I don't see why you could not change the nature and/or compensation of the position -- indeed, you could eliminate the position altogether.

Nonetheless, the law in this area is quite tricky, with many statutes designed to protect employees. Therefore, I would proceed with caution. Also, items (such as an employee handbook) may, under certain circumstances be construed as an employment contract, with certain substantive rights.

You might want someone (i.e., legal counsel) to review your employment relationships generally, i.e., employee handbooks, etc., and then take a look specifically at the situation about which you wrote.

-- Kenneth J. Ashman; www.AshmanLawOffices.com; [email protected]

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Answered on 5/21/03, 10:20 pm


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