Staff at Pizza Huts takeaways across Scotland claim the actions of their Fife franchise bosses have been “morally reprehensible” ahead of planned protests.
Members of the Unite union have submitted grievances against Glenshire Group, a Kirkcaldy company owned by Harris and Amir Aslam and Raza Rehman.
All three men are also directors of retail chain Greens, which posted sales of £26 million in its most recent annual accounts.
Unite alleges cooks, cleaners and delivery drivers at 23 Pizza Huts franchised by Glenshire are “enduring wage theft and the denial of breaks”.
The Fife firm has promised to “thoroughly investigate” the filed collective complaints, but denied “blanket changes” had been made to self-employed driver contracts.
They also refuted claims changes to break policies and annual leave entitlement had been made, in what Unite called a “systematic attack” on employee rights.
Fife bosses accused of ‘illegal’ changes
The claim centres on alleged contract changes which Unite say will result in the loss of up to £80 a week for drivers.
Unite also claims staff had their on-shift meal and staff discount removed and that the company was also “retroactively docking workers’ pay” for breaks they did not take.
Bryan Simpson, Unite’s lead organiser for hospitality said: “The way our members have been treated by the Glenshire Group is morally reprehensible and almost certainly illegal.
“This is a cynical attempt to demolish pay and conditions for some of the lowest paid workers in the economy — to cut labour costs and lurch towards bogus self-employment.
“Unite will not allow such a dangerous precedent to be set, and we will be doing everything in our power to support our members to fight back against these measures industrially, legally and politically.”
Glenshire deny changes to break policy
A spokesperson for Glenshire said: “We can confirm that we received the two collective grievances on Sunday March 23, with the first relating to our delivery drivers’ compensations and the second relating to concerns including annual leave and rest break policies.
“These grievances will be thoroughly investigated in line with our grievance process.
“Glenshire are absolutely committed to robust employment practices including honouring all annual leave and break entitlement for our almost 800 colleagues.
“Driver commissions have not been reduced, rather the remuneration model has changed from a ‘per delivery’ amount to a ‘per mile’ basis to better reflect fuel expenses and ensuring insurance costs are covered.
“Alongside this, we have increased gross pay rates by bringing forward the National Living Wage and Minimum Wage increases by up to £1.20 per hour.
“There are categorically no blanket changes to self-employed contracts taking place. In addition, there have been no changes to break policies or annual leave entitlement.
“We are very much listening to our colleagues, to understand where there are any concerns and how we can swiftly resolve these and have organised internal meetings to hear their concerns.”
Pizza Hut ‘deeply committed’ to employees
Glenshire Brands, a subsidiary of the group, took on their initial Pizza Hut franchise in Kirkcaldy before expanding its presence across Scotland.
They since took over franchises in 23 locations, including Fife and Stirling, in 2022.
A spokesperson for Pizza Hut UK said: “Pizza Hut is deeply committed to ensuring a safe and fair working environment for all employees and as such has strict policies in place that its franchise businesses must adhere to.
“Although Glenshire Group operates as an independent franchisee and is ultimately responsible for its own employment practices, we take these allegations seriously.
“Glenshire will be actively engaging in the coming days with any concerned employees, and we will continue to investigate this situation.”
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