A STAFF member from a Dunfermline restaurant that went into voluntary liquidation this week has spoken out about their anger at the situation, after being told they may get around 50% of the pay they are owed.
Speaking after the surprise closure of Christie's Scottish Tapas this week, the staff member, who did not want to be named, asked why employees at the Fife Leisure Park outlet were only told the night before the closure despite the liquidation process starting six months earlier.
The staff member today said they were left "angry, disappointed and shocked" at the situation, as information available online at Companies House showed that bosses had moved to have the restaurant wound up voluntarily on March 18, 2024.
The eatery, which was led by directors David Blackwood and Thomas Malloy, was closed on Monday along with the Falkirk outlet in a move that took many by surprise.
Speaking to the Dunfermline Press, the former staff member said: "My mum told me that they had done that in March and no-one knew about it until Sunday there.
"I just don’t think it's very fair on us that he’s not told us that. It would have been nice for him to have sat us down, had a meeting, just the manager, the owner, and all the colleagues, just sit down, tell us what's going to happen in a few months and that will give us time.
"The fact is that he put that in back in March, didn’t tell us, and then he just said 'right we’re shut, see you later'."
On Sunday night, staff were called into the restaurant where they were told that they closing.
"The owner was there but he only said a brief word. Then he sat down and did nothing for the rest of the meeting."
The staff member confirmed that there was an individual at the meeting from a consulting company who talked them through how they can apply to be paid - but they believe it won't be the full amount owed.
"I worked around 140 hours last month and I'm not even getting close to that," they continued.
"We were told that we would get 10% off, and then 40% off, so it’s like 50% off of our wage that we’re getting."
The former restaurant worker has been left worried and stressed about their pay. Despite being told that they would receive an email regarding applications for pay, they have yet to have any contact from the consultant.
The staff member feels greater notice should have been given to staff as they all have bills to pay and responsibilities.
"We got told last Christmas that we were going to shut, and for some reason, we all just said, ‘If the time comes, the time comes’ but they kept open and then we were open until two days ago," they added.
"I wouldn’t have minded if they gave us a warning, it's just the fact that it was out of the blue."
The staff member said that they were initially told last year that the restaurant would be closing in December 2023, but when this passed and the eatery remained open without any further communication it was thought everything was ok.
However, a second member of staff - who also wished to remain anonymous - has refuted these claims, saying that the owner has looked after the staff, that everyone knew the business was struggling.
The second staff member said: "The liquidation was done by the director, we were just working for him. We have no knowledge about any money that he owes. He just came and spoke with us on Sunday night, and said we were going to close.
"We all knew that things were not looking good on the money front. Hospitality is taking a good hit and we knew by the sales we were doing every day. It’s difficult for everything to be managed a hundred per cent and it came to a time where maybe he felt that things couldn't go on."
The member of staff spoke about how one of the directors of the company, David Blackwood, was at the meeting, that he had personally gone around every member of staff to make sure that they were fully informed on the situation.
They continued: "Yeah, we will get paid. It will be a consulting company that will be paying us and supporting us in this difficult time so [the owner] made sure we were taken care of.
He went on to highlight that Christie's Scottish Tapas was a great place to work, adding: "Obviously we all have our outgoings in life but we just need to stand up and fight again."
The Press has attempted to contact restaurant bosses for comment.
