Staff at luxury Loch Lomond hotel Cameron House revolt over 'tips abuse', says Unite

Staff at the luxury Cameron House hotel on Loch Lomond are in revolt over “losing hundreds of pounds in tips and service charges”, a union has said.

Unite said on Tuesday that hotel management had introduced a 10% service charge in January and as a result, bar and restaurant staff believe that they are losing between £200 and £300 per month.

It also stated that 100% of all tips paid by card are withheld by the hotel to be distributed at the end of the year, and 15% of all service charges are retained by Cameron House management to pay all hotel staff a Christmas bonus.

The union and 60 of the luxury resort’s workers are now calling for the formation of a Tips Committee – more commonly known as a tronc – made up of bar and restaurant staff to oversee the “democratic and proportionate” distribution of service charges and tips.

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 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 commented: “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.”