Staff at the popular Escape To Freight Island have been told they'll need to reapply for their jobs, following the decision by the foodhall and beer garden to change its bar operations. Bar and events company Peppermint, which runs festival and event bars all over the UK, is taking on staffing of the huge Piccadilly venue.
Staff employed by Freight Island’s parent company Meat Raffle were informed of the change of bar management yesterday. They were told that their current contracts would be terminated on March 16, with a week’s notice, and that their jobs would be made available again through the new company.
Of the 150 informed of the change, three have left the business, with one role being made redundant. The remaining staff are being offered to be retained by the new company on increased pay, a spokesperson for the company said, adding that ‘hopefully all’ current staff will come on board with the new operation.
Read more: All the restaurants and bars opening in Manchester this March
The spokesperson for Freight Island confirmed that staff would be automatically given their old jobs back with the new company, and no interviews would be required.
Dan Morris, managing director of Freight Island and Alex Brooke, co-Founder of Peppermint, said: “The joining of forces between Peppermint Bars and Freight Island, is an extremely powerful partnership and puts us in a great position to maximise the potential of our Manchester site and move forward with our expansion plans.”
Brooke added: “Partnering with a site that has re-invented the way the world sees hospitality, is a really exciting move for Peppermint. We are committed to the customer journey, leading with cutting edge technology, in turn creating some amazing opportunities within the city of Manchester.”
In a further statement, Escape To Freight Island said: “Following the confusion around Freight Island and Peppermint partnership, the company has issued a new letter to staff to reassure them on their job roles.
“We are looking forward to working with all the staff and we wanted to reassure staff we would love for them to continue working in the venue (just as they have done previously). We are looking forward to the new chapter of Freight Island with our team. We will be in touch shortly to start getting the rota ready for re-launch.”
The venue had planned to be closed for just a month after Christmas, however this date was pushed back and it will now re-open on April 1.
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