RESTAURANT owners in Oxfordshire have criticised national chain eateries that take a cut of the tips earned by their waiting staff.

James Reilly said all tips collected from his three Oxford restaurants go straight to his waiters and waitresses, with some going to the kitchen workers as well.

The owner of Cowley Road’s Atomic Burger, Atomic Pizza, and the newly-opened Big Ron’s Burritos said: “All of our tips go to staff. I mean that. We don’t take any of it. We collect them and a percentage is given to kitchen staff and then it is all shared out.”

The owner of award-winning The Kingham Plough, Emily Watkins, also criticised companies that took money from tips from their employees.

This week it was discovered that waiters at major restaurant chains were being made to hand over cash to their employers at the end of their shift.

Las Iguanas, Turtle Bay, and Pizza Express, all of which have branches in Oxford, were found to be taking a large chunk of tips from waiting staff and putting it into other areas of the company.

In one case, a waiter had made £125 in tips at a UK Las Iguanas branch but had to hand over £65 to the general manager at the end of the night.

Mr Reilly, of Atomic Burger, added: “Tips are a recognition of good service and therefore should go to the people who provide the service.”

Assistant manager at Atomic Pizza Connor Holmes often waits tables at the restaurant along with his staff. The 19-year-old said: “All tips are split equally at the end of the night, with 25 per cent going to the kitchen staff.”

He added: “The customers give the tip for your service, so it’s the best way to go.”

Ms Watkins said she thought it was “pretty rubbish” that some chain restaurants took a chunk of the staff tips.

She said: “Tips are there for staff as a reward for good service.

“Whether that member of staff is in the kitchen, polishing glass, or in the toilets. I always say to my staff the more you smile the more you’ll get in tips.

“We then split it equally at the end of each month between all staff, depending on how many shifts they worked.

“The only people who don’t receive tips are myself and my husband.”

Caribbean restaurant chain Turtle Bay is about to open a new eatery in Friars Entry, Oxford, in the building that used to house the Far From the Madding Crowd pub.

Turtle Bay and Las Iguanas, a chain serving Latin American food which has a branch in Park End Street, Oxford, operate a policy that requires staff to pay back to their employer three per cent of the table sales they generate on each shift.

A spokesman for Turtle Bay said its policy was the fairest way of ensuring all staff were rewarded.

A Las Iguanas spokesman said the firm’s tipping policy had been in place for 20 years and ensured they were shared among all employees, who were all paid minimum wage or above.

He added: “It also helps support industry leading reward and recognition programmes and bonus schemes that includes, among others, a trip to Rio de Janeiro and an annual award ceremony.”

* The Oxford Mail’s chief food writer Katherine MacAlister will be discussing tipping on BBC Oxford with Howard Bentham from 7am.

* How do you tip after a meal? Let us know by emailing news@oxfordmail.co.uk or visit oxfordmail.co.uk