Loch Fyne dragged into tips row

Loch Fyne, the fish restaurant group, has been exposed for paying staff slightly below the minimum wage and topping up their pay with tips.

In the latest of a series of articles by mainstream media outlining the payment polices of high-street operators, the BBC revealed that staff at Loch Fyne Restaurants get paid £5.05 an hour, compared with the legal minimum wage of £5.52.

In a statement, Loch Fyne Restaurants said it observed the British Hospitality Association's guidelines, and stressed that "no-one is paid below the minimum wage".

It pointed out that the Loch Fyne Restaurants business was owned by Greene King "so it follows its policies".

The Unite union launched a fair tips charter last September, calling on employers to stop taking a cut of non-cash tips and topping up minimum wage with tips and demanding the Government closes the loophole that allows them to do it.

The Daily Mirror threw its weight behind Unite in April before the Independent launched its own "fair tips, fair pay" campaign earlier this month.

For more on the subject see our Tips round-up>>

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By Daniel Thomas

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