Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Shamie Oliver
Taxpayers foot £500,000 compo bill for restaurant workers sacked illegally
THE collapse of multi-millionaire Jamie Oliver’s UK restaurant empire has cost taxpayers a further £500,000 after axed staff won a compo bid, the Mirror can reveal.
TV chef Oliver was forced to close his Jamie’s Italian chain after it racked up debts of more than £80million.
Over 1,000 staff lost their jobs and councils were reportedly £1.2m out of pocket due to unpaid business rates.
Now the public purse is taking another £500,000 hit after 196 former staff won a tribunal claim, which the company can’t afford to pay.
The Trade Union Act means all employers have a duty to consult with their workers prior to any closure.
But Oliver’s staff received almost no notice meaning the Act was breached.
One former employee, who won her case, told the Mirror the sudden collapse of the business had caused “a lot of shock and anger amongst my colleagues”.
She said: “We were angry because of the lack of notice. We were only told through email.
“We all worked hard and were loyal and passionate about the company so people felt let down.
“Some people were really upset and panicking.
“I knew a husband and wife who both worked there so they were jobless and had no money.”
Oliver, 45, lives in a £6million mansion in Essex with wife Jools and their five kids. He is reportedly worth £100million thanks to a string of lucrative TV and book deals.
The 70-acre estate includes a sixbedroom farmhouse, separate three-bed lodge, swimming pool and tennis court. He called in administrators KPMG in May 2019 after profits at his restaurant chain plunged. The chef later admitted: “I ran out of money, ran out of everything and it was really tough.”
Oliver paid around £1m out of his own pocket to ensure all staff received their salaries until the day the business went into administration.
But former members of staff took their dismissals to a tribunal seeking a Protective Award over a lack of consultation.
Employment judges have now found in their favour and awarded each eight weeks pay, totalling £499,717.
But because the debt-ridden companies have no cash left to cover the bill the compensation has to be paid using public money. The Insolvency Service finally shelled out £471,027 after reclaiming some tax.
Like other creditors it can now make a claim against the administration estate to try to recoup some of the money.
Last year it was reported creditors of Jamie’s Italian – including food suppliers, landlords and tradespeople – would get just “a few pence” for every £1 owed.
A spokeswoman for administrator KPMG declined to comment on the case.
The tribunal claim was against five of Oliver’s closed companies – Jamie’s Italian, Cornwall Food Foundation, Fifteen Cornwall, Fifteen Restaurant and One New Change.
None of the claims relate to the Jamie Oliver Group, which continues to trade.
His spokeswoman declined to comment on the tribunal payouts when approached by the Mirror.
We were loyal and passionate about our work.. we felt let down FORMER WORKER ON THE PAIN OF BEING AXED