THE OWNER of a Chinese buffet restaurant has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds to former employees who only worked one shift.

Shawn Carr and Sinatta Ramsay were employed to work at the Darlington venue last July when it reopened following the coronavirus lockdown.

However the pair failed to complete their first shift after the venue closed mid-way through its re-opening day, with workers unable to find out why.

The pair have since received pay-outs from manager Peter Wu after an employment tribunal found they had “suffered unauthorised deduction of pay”.

Mr Carr and Miss Ramsay were employed as assistant manager and as a supervisor respectively at “108 (Darlington) Limited T/A The Chinese Buffet” ahead of the restaurant’s reopening on July 5 2021.

The employees received “a short period of training” before turning up to the first shift at the Feethams venue between 11am and 12pm for the lunchtime shift, which was due to run until around 3pm.

However, the shift didn’t go to plan and was cut short halfway through. A report from the employment read: “During that lunchtime shift some gas board engineers arrived and carried out inspections and the outcome of this was that they determined that there was some irregularity with regard to the electricity meter and they notified the proprietor.

“This was passed to the staff, that the power was going to be disconnected but was put back to the time when all of the customers had left and it therefore occurred at approximately 3.00pm. There was no certainty as to when the situation would be regularised and the restaurant did not open for the evening shift that day and indeed, as we now noted, did not open again.”

The Northern Echo:

The tribunal, held in January, heard that staff expressed concerns over the lack of work and pay. Hopes that the restaurant could soon reopen fell flat and Mr Wu began receiving request for payment from staff.

He paid Mr Carr £600 from his own pocket while also paying £150 to other members of staff, the tribunal report said. Mr Wu was commended for this, with the report adding: “This demonstrated some awareness on the part of Mr Wu of the existence of a scheme whereby employees can receive some payment if they are actually laid of.”

But after no clarity as to when the situation would change both Miss Ramsay and Mr Carr gave notice of termination of their employment by email during September.

Read more: Darlington takeaway owner fined for food hygiene offences

They then brought these claims to the tribunal claiming in Mr Carr’s case the sum of £4,355.66 for unpaid wages and in Miss Ramsay’s case for £3,009.96.

“The case put forward by both claimants is that they were not laid off in any formal manner and that they were not specifically told, or written to, in any format telling them that they were legally laid off,” the report summarised.  

They argued that they “remained in employment” and “were always ready and willing to work” so should have receive the payment of wages owed to them in their contracts. But Mr Wu said he had paid more than what was legally required and was paid as “he felt an obligation in the interests of both claimants to pay them some money” due to their highlighted financial difficulties.

Employment Judge Barry Speker ruled: "There was not only a shortage of work, there was a total absence of work and the claimants, although ready and willing to work, were not being required to do so.”

“I expressed some sympathy to all of those involved in what is clearly an unfortunate situation where all had been expecting that a reopened restaurant would be trading profitably and provide for the claimants in further employment which they both said they enjoyed at the restaurant and for Mr Wu, and his codirector, a profitable business.

“Sadly, for circumstances described, that has not been the case.”

Shawn Carr was awarded £1,531.26 while Sinatta Ramsay received £1,406.25.

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