Restaurant chain with Edinburgh venue ‘picking the pockets of staff’ with ‘atrocious tips policy’, says union

A restaurant chain with a venue in Edinburgh has been accused of “picking the pockets of poorly paid staff” and denying them the “tips they are entitled to”.

Miller & Carter Steakhouse, who have a restaurant in Frederick Street, has introduced a highly controversial policy in around a third of its restaurants, where front of house servers must give up to two per cent of their gross sales to the kitchen, bar, and management.

According to the Unite union, this has resulted in those waiting tables receiving no tips at all, or worse, falling into a deficit, which they can only clear by using earnings from future tips. Unite says waiting staff at the steakhouse chain, owned by the nationwide pub group Mitchells & Butlers, are fearful for the forthcoming festive period because parties (five or more) dining during this time have been asked to pay a deposit of at least £50. This means that waiting staff are likely to receive fewer tips as a proportion as some of the final bill will have been paid upfront. Increasing their tip deficit.

According to their website, Miller & Carter Steakhouse continues to enjoy strong sales growth – but Unite said it is a starkly different story for its employees. Affected waiting staff, with the staunch support from the union, are now demanding an end to the decidedly immoral deduction of tips – along with a full reimbursement of any money lost.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Miller & Carter are picking the pockets of its already poorly paid staff. It’s abhorrent, and we will continue to fight this policy until real change occurs.”

Miller & Carter said in a statement: “Team members have not, and will never be, asked to contribute towards tips from their own remuneration and are always paid at, or above, national minimum wage.”

The company went on to say there were 70 different variations in how tips were distributed across its venues as “each team, at each individual site, democratically decides on that team’s own tipping distribution policy”.

“Some teams, in different venues, may adopt similar options, but those options are down to each team,” the statement added.

While Miller & Carter claims each restaurant’s staff voted to enact the policies, Unite said it has seen evidence from numerous establishments that show staff were given limited options on which tipping system to use, with most restaurants only offering differing versions of a percentage of sales.

“Even in restaurants where staff may have been given options other than deducting a percentage of all sales, back of house workers and junior management make up most of the workforce,” Unite said. “This means votes that have left waiting staff working with a completely unfair policy that can leave them having to pay out future tips.”

Unite lead hospitality organiser, Bryan Simpson, added: “This is one of the most atrocious tip policies we have ever seen. Our members should not be in debt to their employer and Miller & Carter need to stop acting like Scrooge. It’s time to give their hardworking waiting staff the tips they are entitled to.”