Cameron House staff win battle over withheld tips

The hotel has hosted famous guests including former US president Barack Obama and U2 singer Bono

Staff at an exclusive hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond have won a battle to secure £138,000 in withheld tips.

The Unite union said its campaign would ensure workers at Cameron House will regularly share all service charges and gratuities, worth £70,000 a month.

The row centred on a proportion of a service charge that was being retained until the end of the year.

Cameron House said had always distributed tips but would now dispense the money more regularly

• Cameron House accused of withholding tips from staff

BBC Scotland previously told how staff at the five-star resort claimed they were losing hundreds of pounds worth of tips under the new system.

The hotel had introduced a 10% service charge at the beginning of the year, but it later emerged it had retained 15% of all the money received since January, totalling £138,000.

A chef at the resort's fine dining restaurant Tamburrini & Wishart told how he was down £300 a month as a result of the change.

At the time the union said card tips were not paid until the end of the year and the 15% share of the service charge was being kept by the hotel for a "self-funded Christmas present" for staff, without any consultation.

Unite helped staff set up a tipping committee and also investigated how the West Dunbartonshire hotel was distributing the money.

Julie Nixon, Cameron House assistant sommelier, said: "Our tips are the difference between us being able to make ends meet on a minimum wage job and not.

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

A spokesperson for the 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 hotel, which has hosted guests including President Barack Obama and U2 singer Bono, only reopened in September last year after a multi-million pound restoration.

It followed a blaze in December 2017 which claimed the lives of Richard Dyson, 38, and his partner Simon Midgley, 32, from London.