Minimum wage workers at Cameron House, the five-star hotel on Loch Lomond, say they are fighting back against losing hundreds of pounds worth of tips and service charges.
Union Unite says bar and restaurant staff at the luxury resort are ‘in revolt’ over an ‘opaque’ tips system for the distribution of tens of thousands of pounds worth of tips and service charges at the hotel resort.
They say that in January, the hotel management introduced a 10% service charge. Bar and restaurant staff have since found that they are now between £200 and £300 a month worse off.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is staggering abuse – a posh resort for the rich fleecing the tips of minimum-wage workers.
“The workers are fighting back and they have Unite’s rock solid support. The hotel faces significant reputational damage unless it acts to end this injustice.”
Unite is calling for a new ‘tips committee; made up of bar and restaurant staff to oversee the democratic and proportionate distribution of service charges and card tips.
It is a system recommended by HMRC and due to become law as early as this year.
Unite says Cameron House withholds 100% of all card tips, which are not distributed until the end of the year.
The luxury resort also retains 15% of the service charge to pay all staff, not just the bar and waiting staff, a Christmas bonus.
Unite hospitality organiser, Bryan Simpson, said: “A month after our members submitted this collective grievance, Cameron House senior management continue to refuse to honour the key commitments they made during negotiations.
“They need to ensure tips are distributed fairly, transparently and democratically. Our members have had enough and will be escalating their campaign for fair tips at Cameron House.”
A spokesperson for Cameron House said: “Cameron House gives 100% of service charges to our staff and always has.
“We are committed to being open and transparent during this process and will work closely with UNITE and the teams to come to an agreement as quickly as possible.
“Getting a satisfactory outcome for our team is a priority and we will continue to move forward to deliver this.”
I worked at the Great Scots Bar in Cameron House up until the fire and I can assure you, Cameron House did not give 100% of service charge to the staff. It was also used to pay for walk outs (non paid bills) and wastage. It got to the point I was telling guests to ask for service charge be removed and just leave a couple of pounds for the staff who served them.
A few years ago I spotted an ad placed by the Job Centre in Dumbarton for a post at Cameron House. The job stated that, because of the location and hours required, applicants would need their own transport. The job was advertised at below the legal minimum wage. When contacted the Job Centre admitted their error, they had reused an ad from over a year before when the minimum wage was less. Currently you would need to work for over 3 hours on minimum wage to afford the cheapest three course bar lunch at Cameron House. If you want a fairly basic cocktail with that you’d have to work another couple of hours to pay for it.