Cameron House staff win over £130,000 in backdated tips

Hospitality workers at a top Scottish hotel have won around £138,000 in backdated tips following a trade union campaign.

 

Around 200 team members at the five-AA-starred Cameron House on Loch Lomond will see the funds distributed between them from this month.

 

Union Unite said the hotel had introduced a 10% service charge in January but had failed to explain where the funds, alongside other tips and gratuities, had gone.

 

It claimed that £86,000 of service charge was collected in August but some staff members had received as little as £14 per month.

 

Cameron House said it had always distributed all tips and service charge to staff, but it is understood some had historically been shared out at the end of the year.

 

Around 60 staff at the hotel joined Unite and lodged a collective grievance over the issue.

 

After weeks of negotiation the hotel agreed to the creation of a tips committee elected by workers and over 200 staff voted in favour of the proposals.

 

Staff are also set to receive a cut of £70,000 - £80,000 in service charge per month from now on, according to Unite.

 

Julie Nixon, assistant sommelier, and Unite Hospitality representative at Cameron House, said: "Our tips are important to us. They are the difference between us being able to make ends meet on a minimum wage job and not, between being able to afford transport home and not.

 

“We are delighted that Cameron House have finally seen sense and facilitated the establishment of a democratically elected tips committee.

 

“Fair tips legislation is sorely needed in our industry but while it has long-been promised, it’s never been delivered. “

 

A spokesman for Cameron House Resort said: “Cameron House has always distributed all service charges and gratuities to eligible staff.

 

"We’re delighted that, after a democratic vote, our valued team members have agreed a new distribution model with the primary modification being that the portion of these monies that historically had been paid annually will now be paid monthly.

 

“We are committed to always doing what is right and will continue to listen to our team members and continue to collaborate with them on making Cameron House truly exceptional.”

 

The 140-bedroom hotel on Loch Lomond reopened last year following a fatal fire in 2017 that claimed the lives of two guests. It was awarded the maximum five-star rating by the AA in September.

 

The government has said that legislation, which will ensure that all tips are distributed to staff, is on course to become law in Spring 2023.