Kitchen nightmares
Chef claims he was axed after asking for overtime pay
A UNION is taking on a trendy restaurant after claims that staff are being mistreated.
Unite is backing a head chef employed by Six By Nico, who alleges he was sacked after asking to be paid £2000 for more than 200 hours of unpaid overtime.
The union claims it has spoken to other staff who have made similar claims about the firm, which was set up by Bentleydriving chef Nico Simeone in Glasgow and expanded to Edinburgh, London, Manchester and Belfast.
The union’s hospitality branch is seeking an industrial tribunal, claiming the member suffered “automatic unfair dismissal and breach of contract”.
The chef claims he was fired the day after he sent an email to bosses asking about when the
overtime would be paid. The claims arise from work carried out for the firm’s hugely successful Home By Nico service, which sends out six courses of food and a bottle of wine to people’s homes during lockdown for £60.
The initiative has been a huge success, believed to be selling 6000 boxes a week.
The chef told the Record he was shocked at the sacking.
He said: “I was constantly asked to come in early and go home late because the business was booming, doing thousands of boxes a week.
“I just wanted what was fair for me and for the rest of the staff who were working so hard.”
Bryan Simpson, Unite’s Glasgow hospitality leader, said the union had heard many different stories from staff past and present that reflected poor treatment.
He said: “Following the public outcry from this case on social media, we’ve heard stories from scores of workers which show there are systemic issues with the way in which Six by Nico are treating their workers, morally and legally.”
Six By Nico said they could not comment on individuals or during an ongoing case.