LOW-paid staff at a five star Scots hotel and resort have raised a collective grievance claiming they are missing out on hundreds of pounds in tips paid out through customer's credit and debit cards.

Union leaders say bar and restaurant staff at Cameron House, the luxury hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond are in "revolt" over an "opaque" tips system for distributing tens of thousands of pounds.

The Unite union has demanded a "fairer system" for staff at Cameron House's bars and restaurants.

Around 60 workers are said to have raised their concerns in the dispute at the upmarket venue where a bottle of wine can cost up to £1,200.

But the hotel's owners insist 100 per cent of tips are paid to staff.

The union says the Cameron House practices include withholding 100 per cent of all card tips which are not distributed until the end of the year.

It says the hotel added a 10 per cent service charge in January without any consultation.

Of that, 15 per cent is kept by the hotel for "self-funded Christmas presents" for all staff.

And ever since, bar and restaurant staff have found that they are now between £200 and £300 pounds a month worse off.

Unite also alleged the service charge was being used to subsidise promised income of salaried staff.

And they claimed all tips on cards were kept until the end of the year, meaning staff who leave the company lose out.

The Herald:

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 called for a new "tips committee" and said it had been verbally agreed by the resort manager after a meeting.

Unite said this would ensure "democratic and proportionate distribution" of service charges and card tips.

Unite hospitality organiser Bryan Simpson added: "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."

But Cameron House insisted the service charge is not new and credit card gratuities have normally been paid at the end of the year. They disputed claims they refused to discuss the issues.

A spokesperson for Cameron House said: "Cameron House gives 100 per cent 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.”

Bosses say that service charges have always been in place at Cameron House, but  some changes were made to this in January which have formed part of the grievance discussions. 

They say credit card gratuities have historically been distributed to the entire team at the end of the year, however they staff feedback will play a part in the overall solution.

They deny ignoring or refusing a request for discussion over the grievances and that any delay was due to staff members being on holiday.

But they deny there was any promise of a tips committee, although it was agreed that a robust process will be put in place and accompanied by a clear standard operating procedure to ensure full transparency.