A union has slammed the owners of a Glasgow bar for 'reducing' their real living wage to the minimum wage.
Brel workers were reportedly told by owners itison that they will now be receiving the minimum wage, following a 'change in pay structure' which will see a service charge introduced and 100% shared between the team.
Unite Hospitality has hit out at the move and confirmed representatives from the union will be meeting with itison today in order to appeal the decision.
The real Living Wage increased by 10.1% in 2023, becoming £10.90 per hour for the UK, while the minimum wage is £10.18.
READ MORE: Huge swarm of bees gather outside Glasgow city centre bar forcing venue to close
Unite also urged the company's directors to "listen to their workforce" as the "company makes millions from members' hard work".
A statement from the union on social media reads: "Workers at Brel in Glasgow have been told that they will no longer be paid the real living wage and will be reduced to minimum wage. Our reps shall be meeting @itisoncom tomorrow to appeal. The parent company made £5.5m in 2021 (most recent figures).
"We would urge @itisoncom Directors to listen to their workforce (our members) and provide them with the wages that they need to live-on, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis when the company makes millions from our members' hard work."
A spokesperson for Brel said: “Factually incorrect information has been circulated online including wildly inflated profit figures and suggestions of pay cuts. We want to clarify with the facts
“The full front of house team at brel, regardless of age, were paid an average of £13.14 per hour between the period of April – June 2023, following a change in pay structure.
“60% of our brel team are under the age of 23 – and we opt to pay the same rate of pay, even though government guidelines would allow us to pay significantly less.
“These figures represent a substantial increase on take-home at the same time last year and are higher than the current rate of Real Living Wage at £10.90.
“As part of the change in pay structure, amidst well-documented cost increases across the supply chain, we elected to move away from the voluntary Real Living Wage in place of a more sustainable model.
“Extensive planning and forecasting was undertaken before implementing the changes to secure the long-term future of the business, and jobs of our incredible team.
“As part of this, we introduced a service charge, 100% of which is shared between the team.
“This has resulted in a substantial increase in monthly take-home alongside an industry-leading benefits package.
“As this is an ongoing grievance and we are committed to a fair appeal process, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
