> That said, who says "the worker's salary is a employer's responsibility?"

...The employer does the second they hire the worker

>> That said, who says "the worker's salary is a employer's responsibility?"

Why would it not be? The employer pays the employee for their labor. The exception is with tipping, in which the employer passes most of the paying responsibility to the customer.

Is there a place where "tips are an optional extra"? It seems wherever I've been they are either expected or not expected/allowed...

Spain. It is common to "round it off" as a tip around here, but not mandatory in any way. Examples:

You get a beer somewhere, it's 1.75€ and you round it off to 2€. That's a reasonable tip that says "service has been fine, thanks.".

You get dinner somewhere, it's 57.25€ and you round it to 60€. Same thing as above.

You get dinner somewhere, it's 57.25€ and you pay exactly that amount. The message is "the price was fair enough for what I got". Nobody will look badly at you.

You get dinner somewhere, it's 57.25€ and you pay 70€. The message is "you have been wonderful hosts, thank you VERY much".

Also, tips are not just for the service, but for the entire experience. You tip if you want to compliment the service, but also/alternatively because you want to compliment the food, or the ambient, or whatever.

This is generally how I used to go about it till a friend mentioned that I'd need to do the 20% bit.

In Germany it's somewhat "optional", as the tip is supposed to represent how happy you've been with the service and there's legislature in place that specifically states that tips are not supposed to be part of the wage. But that also depends on the service you are using. A small tip can also go a long way of making you a preferred customer: At my favorite Thai place I sometimes round up what I pay by 50 cent, in return I get a free serving of spring rolls (worth 2,50€) with every order, making the 50 cent investment a rather good deal ;)

I live in Greece, and it is an optional extra here. If you pay with a card, a lot of times there is a menu on the POS which you choose a percentage for tipping, which ranges from 0% upto I dont remember how much (but a lot).

Personally I always give a generous tip, (unless the server intentionally does something bad), just because it feels good to. It is not charity or pity for low wage. It is just that I would welcome a tip too if I were in the waiter's shoes, no matter how much my wage would be.

As far as I can tell, that's how tipping works in France (and I would assume most mediterranean countries).

Australia would count for tips as an "optional extra" (for food service. I don't think I've ever tipped anyone else in Aus)

Yes, it's anywhere outside of strong US ties. In New Zealand you'll get chased down the street by the honest waiter telling you that you've forgotten your change.

As others have pointed out in this thread, many other countries have wonderful systems in place that work without mandatory tipping.

No disrespect intended, but like with things such as gun control laws and plastic currency in different colors materials and sizes (two examples of things implemented on a wide scale in other countries with NO adverse effect), I am always bemused when US based people keep insisting that it will never work there.

I think when you get out of the food service industry (at least in the U.S.) tipping is more fluid. A tour guide or a ski instructor for example, while I would say tips are customary the "rules" are much less codified so it's largely more in the category of optional

Only way i have seen tipping happen where i'm from is on a "keep the change" basis at bars and similar.