A former waiter at the Metropolitan Mayfair casino, Park Lane, London W1K, has launched legal action against the establishment, alleging the casino's tip-pooling arrangements funnelled gratuities away from serving staff and toward managers.
The claimant contends he was not given a fair share of tips collected during his employment, and that those tips were distributed to categories of staff — including management — who he argues should not have been eligible to receive them.
The case is expected to turn on the structure of the casino's tronc, the internal system by which hospitality businesses pool and redistribute gratuities. Employment tribunal filings of this type have increased since the passage of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, which came into force in October 2024 and placed new statutory duties on employers to pass tips to workers in full.
The Metropolitan Mayfair declined to comment for publication. The former waiter is identified in the legal action but has not been named in public filings reviewed at time of filing.
The casino sits approximately 200 metres from the Hyde Park Corner entrance to the park, on a stretch of Park Lane where hotel room rates routinely exceed £500 a night.
The complaint does not specify a pound-sterling figure sought — only that the distribution was not fair.