A MOVE to stop pubs, hotels and restaurants in Glasgow unfairly keeping employee’s tips has been welcomed.

Prime Minister Theresa May introduced laws which guarantee tips ended up in staff members’ pockets rather than being siphoned off by bosses.

The move was welcomed by a Scottish Trades Union Congress-backed (STUC) campaign called Better then Zero, which discovered ‘non-payment on a massive scale’ across the city and Scotland.

Claire Galloway, an organiser with the group, said: “Restaurant staff are paid the minimum wage for service with a smile, and one of their few advantages is being denied them by profit-hungry bosses.”

Better Than Zero claimed the city’s famous Grand Central Hotel is one of the businesses which have failed to give staff all the money handed to them by appreciative customers. 

However, a spokesman for the Grand Central Hotel said it was company policy to let all staff keep their tips.

The Evening Times spoke to two members of staff who told us tips paid by credit card were collected by the hotel - which is perfectly legal.

Cash raised in the last year was then used to buy expensive prizes which were then bought and raffled off at a staff party.

Faye Graham, 24, who works as a waitress in the hotel’s restaurant, claimed bar and restaurant staff were not able to attend these parties, because they were held on nights when they were working shifts.

She said: “I was told I was selfish for complaining. But it was paid for using money which should have been ours in the first place.”

Kyle Scott, 23, is studying for a degree in social policy and has worked in hospitality since he was 16.

He also told us other companies he worked for kept money back for ‘staff parties’ and other events.

“Workers don’t want to go The Garage once a year - they want their tips,” Kyle said.

“It’s difficult for people to get by on minimum wage, so tips make low pay bearable.”

Workers around Scotland and the UK are planning a ‘day of action’ on Thursday which could include strikes.

Staff from McDonald’s, Wetherspoons and TGI Fridays will join the protests, which are planned for Glasgow and six other cities around Britain.

A spokesperson for The Grand Central Hotel said: “We have in place a system for allocating gratuities to our hard working team members. 

"A committee, made up of colleague representatives, meet every month to ensure that all money raised from credit card and room charge gratuities benefit the team. 

"The hotel does not benefit from any of the money collected or hold any influence over how it is spent.”