Cameron House workers demanding fairer tips system

Around 60 workers at Cameron House Resort in Loch Lomond are understood to be demanding a fairer tips system at the property.

According to union Unite, bar and restaurant staff at the luxury hotel are “in revolt” over “the misappropriation of their hard-earned tips”.

The union said that, since hotel management introduced a 10% service charge In January, bar and restaurant staff have found themselves to be between £200 and £300 pounds a month worse off.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Minimum wage workers are losing hundreds of pounds worth of tips at Cameron House, one of Scotland’s top-drawer luxury hotels. 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 distribution of service charges and card tips.

The union also accused Cameron House of withholding card tips until the end of the year and retaining 15% of the service charge to pay all 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.”

Cameron House said it was engaging with Unite but it is understood a delay in the hotel’s response was caused by staff members being on holiday and a meeting was set up after they returned.

It is understood that service charge has always been in place at the hotel, but changes were made to the system in January which has formed part of the grievance discussion.

Credit card tips have historically been distributed to the entire team at the end of the year but Cameron House is understood to be aware of staff feedback on the issue.

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.”

The 140-bedroom, five-AA-starred hotel on Loch Lomond reopened last year following a fatal fire in 2017 that claimed the lives of two guests.

A bill banning hospitality businesses from taking a cut of staff tips had its second reading in parliament last month and will progress to the committee stage for scrutiny.

If passed into law it will ban businesses from withholding cash or card tips and give more than two million UK workers the right to request information on an employer's tipping record, enabling them to bring forward a credible claim to an employment tribunal.