wage theft

No contracts, unsure of the terms of employment, working to the whim of management, sound familiar? We are currently in a dispute with  Upper Crust Hove (no not the yellow chain everywhere) the one in West Hove’s golf club.

The worker came to Solfed for help after not being paid her full notice period pay, following having her hours changed upon them, which in effect forced them to leave employment.

This was not a mutual agreement; this was punishment for taking an agreed holiday which management forgot about.

Due to the fact nothing was laid out before hand, the ambiguity of terms and conditions leaves the power to management to do as they  please. That is until workers start fighting for themselves.

Some workplaces in Brighton, including hospitality companies like pubs, restaurants and hotels, to hospitals, care agencies and the building trade, employers ask potential employees to come and work a 'trial shift' to see if they are up to the job.

The Manchester Solidarity Federation organised a second successful national phone blockade against Laibaz on Saturday 6th August. The blockade was a great success and we are confident that no orders were taken at the restaurant during the period the blockade was in force. The workers involved would again like to thank people for their fantastic support in making the blockade a success.

The campaign was started after several former employees contacted Manchester Solfed complaining that they were owed wages for hours worked and holiday entitlement. After meeting the workers we also learnt that the restaurant's owner had paid workers at an hourly rate below the minimum wage and has failed to provide pay slips. He also failed to provide P45s when workers left their jobs at the restaurant.

Brighton SolFed started a dispute with Jimmy's Restaurant's Marina branch regarding wage theft. The Restaurant was part of a bigger scam and tax fraud involving different branch and companies.

Manchester Solidarity Federation has entered a dispute with Laibaz, a restaurant in Bolton. A number of the restaurant’s former employees are owed wages for hours worked and holiday entitlement. The restaurant's owner has paid workers at an hourly rate below the minimum wage and has failed to provide pay slips. He also failed to provide P45s when workers left their jobs at the restaurant.

We started the campaign by organising a phone blockade on Saturday July 23, aimed at preventing “take away” orders. The blockade was a tremendous success and we are confident that the restaurant was unable to take any orders between the hours of 6pm and 10pm, the busiest period of the week for take away orders. The workers involved would like to thank people for their fantastic support in making the blockade a success.

A former housekeeper in The Amsterdam Hotel received the full payment of his holiday entitlement after joining a SolFed campaign against wages theft.

Last month, Cheese & Toast, a cafe in Lewes Road, paid one of its former workers after having been contacted by SolFed.

The Solidarity Federation today escalated it's campaign against wage thieves Jimmy's Restaurants, with a picket by the South London local of their Wimbledon restaurant.

Jimmy's owe their former workers in Brighton £1,500 in holiday pay and have failed to provide the workers with  P45s or pay income tax to the HMRC (despite tax being taken from their pay!) The manager of the Brighton branch has refused to engage with SolFed when confronted with this, insisting it is the responsibility of head office who never answer our calls and emails.

In response to this and following successful pickets in Brighton and Bath we today picketed the Wimbledon restaurant, handing out 240 flyers to let passers by know that the company engaged in wage theft. We received a positive response from those we talked to, with previous customers telling us they would not be eating at Jimmy's in the future.

After three weeks of action, Jimmy's Restaurant (on the Brighton Marina) is still avoiding their responsibilities. Three former workers are still campaigning to get their holiday pay and their P45 documents and we keep receiving contacts of workers facing the same situation.

From the beginning, the management of the restaurant has been denying any responsibility and addressing us to the “Head Office” who, curiously enough, never answer the phone or emails.

Moreover, last week we found out that the workers, having received their payslips with their tax deductions, are not in the records of the HMRC as having worked for Jimmy's. No explanation has been given by Jimmy's but we do hope that this is a misunderstanding.

Jimmy's restaurant continues to refuse to repay its former workers over £1500 in stolen holiday pay, nor return their P45s. After contact with the initial three workers, and their friends who either have worked for or continue to work for the restaurant, we can see that their case is all but unique. Jimmy's is refusing to treat its employees with respect and we will keep fighting until they do so.