A tip at Christmas as a thank you - but often it's not even ten euros
Created: 12/16/2022, 07:00
By: Anne Hund
Many would like to say thank you to the garbage man, the parcel deliverer or the caretaker with a tip or a gift.
But not everyone can accept it.
Many use the Christmas season to thank other people for their commitment.
Be it in the form of a gift, or sometimes with an extra tip.
What you need to know about this: Certain professional groups are not allowed to accept tips at all.
These include, for example, civil servants, the postman or the conductor, as the
German Press Agency
(dpa) describes.
Tipping: Some professions are not allowed to accept it
In general, employees of public companies should not accept cash in excess of the actual invoice amount, according to Simone Bueb of the Bavarian Consumer Advice Center, according to the report.
However, small gifts within certain value limits are fine.
The value up to which gifts of money or goods may be accepted can vary greatly.
(Iconic image) © Robert Poorten/Imago
Snacks or cookies instead of a tip at Christmas
What can you give letter and parcel deliverers or garbage disposal employees for Christmas or at the end of the year?
According to the deputy chairwoman of the German Etiquette Society, Linda Kaiser, snacks, cakes, snacks, coffee or traditional cookies, for example, would be good options here, reports
dpa
.
In principle, according to the experts, it is also advisable to always ask public companies about the respective value limits - these usually include, for example, garbage disposal and also Deutsche Post.
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Small gifts like chocolate instead of tips
Whether and up to what value gifts in kind and money can be accepted can be regulated very differently - even within an industry, as
Bayern3.de
also reports.
The radio station gives specific examples: “The Deutsche Post DHL Group allows small gifts in kind up to a value of 25 euros.
Hermes couriers are allowed to accept small gifts (such as chocolate) and tips of up to ten euros.”
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A voucher instead of a tip – or sometimes nothing at all
For employees of the waste management company, the regulations can also vary greatly from city to city, as in Bavaria: "In Munich, vouchers and gifts in kind are okay up to a maximum value of 25 euros (cash is forbidden!)", explains
Bayern3.de.
In Nuremberg, city employees are generally forbidden from accepting gifts – with the exception of promotional items.
The regulation in Würzburg is the strictest: "Here, the city cleaners have to completely refuse both money and gifts." In the case of private companies such as caretaker services or cleaning companies, the issue is "safer".
Here, too, one should inquire about what is in order if in doubt.
You can also find out here how much it is customary to tip at the hairdresser.