WAGE ROW WAR AT CALL CENTRE
Workers claim they are owed thousands
Staff at a leading call centre have been left chasing their employer for pay in a bitter wage dispute.
Some employees at AGO Outsourcing say they have repeatedly not been paid correctly, with others saying they have flat out not been paid for work they have done.
But the company say the blame does not lie with them, instead the “legal entity” that was supposed to pay staff – Lakemere Global Holdings.
No fewer than 10 current and former staff members contacted the News to say they are still owed thousands of pounds by the firm, whose biggest contract is Scottish Power.
One member of staff, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “We have been fed a load of rubbish from the start.
“Most months I worked there I was getting about half my monthly salary.
“When I asked about it, I was told there were ‘payroll issues’.
“But it quickly became clear there was something bigger going on because there were so many of us waiting to get paid properly.”
The 23-year-old – who started in April and left in August – said he did not receive his final payment when he quit to start elsewhere.
Having chased the matter repeatedly, he said finance controller Kelly Smith stopped taking calls from him.
He added: “I was supposed to be going away for my birthday but had to cancel last minute because I just hadn’t the money I thought I was going to have from my last pay cheque.”
Like a number of staff, he was asked to sign a ‘non-disclosure’ agreement by the firm amidst offers of compensation.
Having left on August 30, he received an apology from the company’s financial controller and a promise the matter would be resolved by September 5, along with an “additional payment” of £100 for his “inconvenience”. The situation has yet to be resolved. Another member of staff from the East Kilbride office told us he was threatened with police action if he continued to contact the company or turn up at their offices to find answers.
He was told he would be paid by September 30 but has yet to receive any money from AGO or Lakemere. Things got so bad for him that he turned to his MP for help.
Lisa Cameron MP told us: “I will continue to work with him to do all I can so he rightfully receives his wages.
“He is being treated in a disgraceful manner and I would urge the company involved to make recompense to him immediately. Otherwise, I will be raising his treatment, with his permission, in the House of Commons.”
Based at West Point House, AGO opened a second site in Newcastle last September – but that has already closed, with staff there saying it came without warning.
One former Newcastle worker, who does not wish to be named, told us how staff there were usually let away at 2pm on a Friday.
He added: “They came downstairs one Friday and told us there and then that we were being made redundant at the end of our shift.
“Then they just tore the place down. It was emptied that night and there’s nothing there now.
“It’s a nightmare, because now they’re saying the company that pays our wages (Lakemere) has gone into liquidation. Through ACAS, we have filed a certificate to stop them striking it off from Companies House until we are paid.”
Corporate restructuring firm, Begbies Traynor, were approached by the director and shareholder of Lakemere Global Holdings, Liam McCreadie, to liquidate the company following pressure on the company from creditors.
A statement from the firm said: “We were appointed as liquidators on October 24.
“We understand there are a number of employees who may potentially have claims for unpaid wages against the company and we are dealing with those claims and enquiries by way of a series of meetings with employees in Newcastle and Glasgow.”
The News repeatedly tried to engage with AGO chief executive Kris McGenily, but he said he was unable to divulge or offer an official comment on the matter.
He told us: “I have limited information bearing in mind the business who the staff in Newcastle were employed by wasn’t owned by me or Stephen Rafferty.
“It’s now in the hands of administrators and they have sent letters to all staff advising next steps for payment claims etc.”