More than a dozen staff working at a popular diner in the Merchant City have launched a dispute with their boss over an alleged 'massive backlog of missing wages'.
Staff working at TriBeCa on Bell Street, run by franchisee Duncan Werry, have said that they had 20 per cent of their wages deducted for a period of three months, despite them not being registered to pay tax with HMRC.
Workers involved in the action say they were also not given written contracts and were instead kept on zero-hours contracts and not given holiday or sick pay they were legally entitled to.
Better Than Zero is now working with the staff of the Merchant City restaurant to recoup the funds.
No other Tribeca franchise is involved in the action.
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Jon Heggie from Better Than Zero claimed: "Workers at the Merchant City branch of the diner had 20 per cent of all wages deducted for several months for ‘tax’, despite HMRC having no record of their employment for this period and the number not reflecting the amount of tax they should have been paid.
"They were also not provided with written contracts and were on zero-hours contracts with no holiday or sick pay that they were entitled to.
"The workers are demanding the return of all funds owed, an apology from their former employer, and for the employer to extend an offer for all current workers to join a meeting mediated by a third party, to address all outstanding issues and the culture of fear in the business."
Reece, 27, a former worker described his time working at the Merchant City diner as 'horrific'.
He claims that staff of all ages and regardless of how many hours they had worked would have 20 per cent of their takings deducted every week.
The workers taking part in the action were also never given wage slips.
Reece explained: "On my first week I was paid cash in hand which was normal but after that, he told me he would set me up with a wage slip and asked for my bank details.
"Every week 20 per cent was taken of my wage regardless of what I was making. It was like that for everyone I've spoken to - some people weren't working enough to merit the deduction or were too young.
"People were struggling to pay their bills because of how much was being taken off them but they couldn't afford to give up the job.
"I checked my HMRC account and it finally clicked that we had never been set up as employees despite being told we were.
In March, employees were told by Werry via message that he had 'no money to pay them' their wages.
Shortly after, the staff decided to hold a meeting with the boss to discuss the situation and demand their unpaid wages.
Another former employee Laura Baillie, 29, described the meeting as becoming volatile after Werry brought his mum in to talk to the staff. The meeting was recorded with Werry's agreement.
Laura claimed: "When I started, he didn't take any details off me, no National Insurance number just my first and last name. I would get my pay and it would be less than the hours I worked, despite it not being taxed.
"We told him we were going to go on strike and called a meeting but he didn't even speak, he got his mum to come in and speak to us. She was really aggressive and tried to strong-hand us into going back to work.
"Since then there's been no communication."
Franchise owner Duncan Werry has said that all deductions were made on the advice of his accountant.
Glasgow Live has seen an email between Werry and his accountant dated back in January advising that 20 per cent was to be deducted until PAYE was set up.
Werry said: "In terms of a toxic work environment I have witnesses that will demonstrate that I am understanding to the needs of my employees and I do everything in my power to create a positive work environment.
"It is true to say that there is a degree of stress with a busy hospitality environment but I do everything in my power to minimise stress. However, the kitchen staff members in question repeatedly failed to turn up to work during busy periods which caused significant stress and pressure on the team.
"Also, the front-of-house staff members in question (with the exception of one) repeatedly underperformed during busy periods which added to the stress in the work environment.
"In terms of the message saying that I needed to pay them later on in the day, this was because the sales from the weekend had not yet been received into the bank and all staff members were paid later in the day.
"In terms of the deduction of 20 per cent tax, this was done on the advice of my accountant. My accountant will also confirm that all payroll information is up to date and I have paid regular PAYE contributions to HMRC."
Tribeca Franchises Limited added: "It has been brought to our attention that there have been allegations made against Tribeca Merchant City.
"Although part of a franchise, each Tribeca unit is run independently in its daily operations, and the allegations are the subject of an ongoing investigation. It is important that any investigation follows due process.
"We do, however, take all employment matters within any franchise restaurant very seriously and do not condone any inappropriate or unacceptable employment practices."
