G1 staff ‘wrongly dismissed’
A COURT has ruled in favour of bar workers wrongfully dismissed in a ‘David and Goliath’ battle.
Five workers from the bar won their tribunal claim at court earlier this week and bosses were found to have breached the contracts of three and unfairly dismissed another two.
Unite said the case should give confidence to hospitality workers across the country.
FIVE workers from a West End bar were treated unfairly and wrongfully dismissed, a court has found.
Former staff of the Grosvenor Cafe on Ashton Lane, who were sacked in September, last year, won their tribunal claim in a court earlier this week.
Bosses at the venue, run by hospitality giant G1 group, were found to have “breached the contracts of three claimants by failing to give notice or payment in lieu”.
Another two had been “unfairly dismissed”, according to the court.
Judge Shona Maclean, who handled the case, slated G1’s handling of the case, saying the group had “not carried out a reasonable and proper procedure and the decision to dismiss... fell out with the band of reasonable responses which a reasonable employer might have adopted”.
Bryan Simpson, from Unite Hospitality, said: “The G1 Group threw everything at this case – and the best lawyers money can buy – and yet a collective of minimum wage bar staff have came out on top.
“This was very much a David and Goliath story for the hospitality industry – one that should give confidence to hospitality workers across the country.
“On September 5, 2017, the board of directors for G1 Group had a letter delivered by hand by Stefan King’s private security guards to Unite’s offices on West Regent Street.
“The letter contained a formal complaint regarding the representation that they do not need to put-up with exploitation. They should join Unite Hospitality and get involved in the campaign to transform the industry.”
This judgement is in addition to the earlier concession by lawyers representing the company that their clients had acted in breach of its employees’ statutory rights when they refused staff the right to be represented by their chosen trade union representative.
Particular criticism was reserved for the appeal manager G1 Group operations director Michael Thomas, who was described as an “unimpressive witness… who had no intention of upholding the claimant’s appeal regardless of what was said at the appeal hearing.”
Notes in the tribunal judgement also showed some of the staff claiming unfair dismissal had worked for the company for six years.
They added that Mr Thomas “had no intention of upholding” one appeal “regardless of what was said at the appeal hearing”.
G1 Group was approached for comment but had not responded to requests at the time of publication.