Recently in employee relations Category

Wozza's having a tough time of it, as any of you who've been reading the papers or switched on the news will know. Last week he and his wife toured the six restaurants in his group to tell 65 of his 105 staff that they would be losing their jobs as his company had bust.

The administrator that was winding up his firm was supposed to do it, but he was stuck in snow. At least the fact AWT did the deed meant it was "more gentle" for his staff, albeit the same outcome ensued.

A few staff will remain, due to the fact that Worrall Thompson has bought back two of his restaurants he tells the Evening Standard: the Kew and Windsor grills. The Lamb Inn and the Greyhound, both in Henley-on-Thames, the Notting Grill and the Barnes Grill are those locking their doors for good.

Worrall Thompson owes Lloyds Bank around £250,000, and suppliers and loans make up another £200,000, but he was working towards paying it off, if only the banks had listened to him.

"This is a recession that didn't need to happen," he says. "It's a recession created by greed. Why isn't there rioting in the streets?"

Antony Worrall Thompson forced to close restaurants >>

Credit crunch forces Antony Worrall Thompson to close the Greyhound >>

It will be interesting to see what happens with this situation? A muslim chef is suing the Met police force for religious discrimination after being told he had to handle pork when cooking coppers' 999 fry up breakfasts.

Although the chef was offered gloves so that he wasn't directly touching the pork sausages and bacon, he was still unhappy with the siutation as his religion forbids him from touching the meat.

No one wants to stamp on people's beliefs and we should all respect each other and treat each other as we would like to be treated, but but we can't help worrying this could have massive knock-on effects in our industry if his case is upheld. It would surely be unworkable? What do you think?  

The tribunal will be held next May

Being one of Caterer's Adopted Businesses is an honour not bestowed lightly.

It's better to be talked about than not at all, after all and there's a lot of associated credit to go with a regular feature in the hospitality magazine.

Although Caterer's reach is well established with a number of ex-pats. on the subscription list, one tale from current Adopted Business Vacherin still managed to surprise.

With all publicity being good publicity, it appears Caterer's coverage of City caterer Vacherin has permeated the world wide web and has been picked up as far away as Africa.

What a difference a year makes, especially for Butlins owner Bourne Leisure.

Back in February 2007 the holiday camp operator faced a compensation bill of up to £1m after a court ruling that wage deductions for gas and electricity used by live-in staff at the holiday sites was illegal.

The case affected 6,000 workers – typically employed for the holiday season – that had had £3 deducted from their weekly wages to pay for their energy use, taking their pay below the National Minimum Wage in some cases.

But that’s all history now as Bourne has made it into this year’s Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list as part of its placing of the 20 best large companies to work at.

So from Bourne Ultimatium to Bourne Supremacy.

National minimum wage to rise to £5.73>>

Butlins faces £1m payout to its staff>>

Exciting news reaches us from Thistle Hotels, which is really pushing the boat out to treat its employees.

The chain has invested in new facilities for its employee rest areas, accommodation and workspaces, giving workers “the opportunity to relax in style”.

Head of HR Christian Armstrong said: “The upgraded facilities will make it a home from home for employees. High quality furniture will be distributed to each of the hotels and employees will be able to choose their own accessories and soft furnishings.”