An underpaying, exploitative restuarant boss in London was forced to pay a foreign kitchen porter his owed wages and also holiday pay when a picket arrived outside his restaurant, backed up by threats of legal action.
Cesare Copeta, an Italian national working seasonally in London, was employed by The Food Room, owners of The French Table restaurant in Surrey and the Tom Ilic restaurant in Battersea, which has been spotted listed in Time Out's Top 50 London restaurants.
He was employed as a kitchen porter at the Tom Ilic restaurant and had applied for the job through an advertisement in the Department of Work and Pension's Jobcentre Plus database.
He worked 50 hours over a 2 week period, but was then paid only £75. Having been paid only £1.50 per hour, he walked out of the job in disgust.
The South London local of the Solidarity Federation, of whom Mr Copeta was a member during his time in England, wrote to the boss setting out our member's legal entitlement to the National Minimum Wage, payment for wrongful dismissal and accrued holiday pay. A picket was also organised outside the restaurant at 6:30pm on Thursday 7th February. At the start of the picket, the employer agreed to pay the member his wages at a little over the rate set at the National Minimum Wage and has also paid the member's accrued holiday pay.
The South London local secretary, Mike Ward, said "The catering industry is riddled with long hours, low pay and shady practices. This is a far cry from the glamorous world of celebrity chefs. We are determined to help workers do something about the conditions they face."
He was employed as a kitchen porter at the Tom Ilic restaurant and had applied for the job through an advertisement in the Department of Work and Pension's Jobcentre Plus database.
He worked 50 hours over a 2 week period, but was then paid only £75. Having been paid only £1.50 per hour, he walked out of the job in disgust.
The South London local of the Solidarity Federation, of whom Mr Copeta was a member during his time in England, wrote to the boss setting out our member's legal entitlement to the National Minimum Wage, payment for wrongful dismissal and accrued holiday pay. A picket was also organised outside the restaurant at 6:30pm on Thursday 7th February. At the start of the picket, the employer agreed to pay the member his wages at a little over the rate set at the National Minimum Wage and has also paid the member's accrued holiday pay.
The South London local secretary, Mike Ward, said "The catering industry is riddled with long hours, low pay and shady practices. This is a far cry from the glamorous world of celebrity chefs. We are determined to help workers do something about the conditions they face."
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legal question
03.04.2008 21:05
To help others, can someone explain more about on what grounds 'wrongful' dismissal can be claimed instead of unfair dismissal in cases like these when workers dont meet the one year minimum criteria for eligibility to claim 'unfair' dismissal. Or maybe point us to an explanation of this?
Lots of people don't threaten legal action because they think that with less than a year they cant do anything unless they can show discrimination on race, sex etc or one or two other reasons which are legally valid.
amigo
well done solfed
04.04.2008 13:24
wob
Try this for information on rights
04.04.2008 13:40
This is an information site set up by the Citizens Advice Bureau. It only gives a brief overview of employment rights, but it should be enough for people to understand the difference between claiming "unfair dismissal", for which you have to be employed for at least a year, and "wrongful dismissal" which you can claim at any time. Essentially, "wrongful dismissal" can be claimed when your statutory rights have been broken.
BUT: if you have simply been underpaid wages, such as by being paid less than the national minimum wage, or the employer has paid you less than agreed, you can simply sue as a small claim in the county court without having to resign from your job first. But you would need to have something in writing or some document to show to the court that you had been underpaid. This could be your wageslips, bank statements, a job advert showing what the rate of pay is; a copy of the job description; a basic statement of your terms and conditions which the employer is obliged to give you after you have worked for 8 weeks; any emails or letters sent between you and the employer, or from an employment agency, that agree on the rate of pay.
Annie Citizen
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