Service charge and parties over eight?

Does one tip when service charge is inclulded?
Is the service charge solely for the floor staff of a restaurant- it appears on the bill and presumeably is summed up with sales at the end of the night.. is this then deducted and given out?

No. You are not expected to tip when a compulsory service charge is placed on the bill - regardless of how the restaurant management divvies up the sum (if at all.) If I knew that the service charge was not passed on to the staff, I would not eat at the restaurant. If a waiter whined that they don't get a fair whack of the service charge and suggested I should add a little extra, I would tell him or her that if I believed an extra few bob was merited, I would have already given it to him or her. I'd also suggest that they look for work in a different restaurant.

I was in a restaurant in France last week where it clearly stated on the menu "service compris" (service included). When the bill came the waiter made a point of telling us that the bill did not include tips. When I queried this he became quite agitated(language difference probably the reason) and called who appeared to be the floor manager. This man pointed out that "service compris" was only for the manager and that the person waiting the tables would be getting the tips. I felt it was a total scam but I also felt rather intimidated by two men standing over the table making it clear a Tip was obligatory. Yes, we did leave one but much smaller than usual. I just wanted out. I also wonder do the management or owner of the restaurant know that this is going on in the restaurant.

Not sure about French tipping practices, but the same principle outlined above is not common in Ireland. Tipping is always optional anywhere, at any rate.

Just to clarify the thread, this question was not prompted by any waiter or their actions but by the members of the table..... and that some of us were wondering whether or not this was actually passed on "in cash".
I agree with extopia that tipping is optional and should only reflect the table's satisfaction at the end off the night ( especially in a country with a high minimun wage) but some were wondering if they where tipping twice.

Newbie
I have asked in restaurants not to pay the service charge as I wish to directly tip the staff and they have taken the charge off the bill without any problem.

with the minimum wage set so high do people feel the need to genuinely tip? Tipping culture comes from America where waiting staff are paid extremely little...far less than our minimum wage and hence the tipping is a substitue for salary?