Bosses at a popular chain of pubs and restaurants in Dundee have been accused of covering up a Christmas Covid outbreak and putting customers and staff at risk.
More than 50 workers from the chain Macmerry300 and Abandon Ship Ltd have filed a mass complaint against directors at the firms.
It’s claimed employees were “expected or felt pressured” into working shifts while experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, awaiting PCR results, and after coming into close contact with a coronavirus case.
The Dundee venues named are Abandon Ship, Bird & Bear, Nola, Draffens, the King of Islington, the Blue Room, and Franks with staff often working across all.
The firm has rejected all claims but said it is willing to discuss any genuine grievances or concerns.
During a company-wide outbreak just before Christmas last year, management allegedly asked staff to refrain from publicising their positive results to keep the matter in-house.
A Unite the union-backed letter has been sent to the firm detailing the allegations.
It also includes allegations of systemic bullying, a failure to deal with sexual harassment complaints, failure to pay wages, as well as health and safety breaches.
Eleven former employees have added their names to the long list of current employees to have signed the papers.
They say they’ve grown increasingly frustrated after claiming numerous concerns fell on deaf ears.
The seven-page letter details more than 60 “company-wide” grievances committed by upper management at the two companies.
The grievance is addressed to bosses at Macmerry and Abandon Ship, listed as Phil Donaldson, Andrew McMenemy, Richard Davies, and Martin Cannon.
Staff speak out about Covid concerns
Mark Farquhar, 22, who works in Frank’s, said: “People have been bullied into working shifts with symptoms.
“The excuse is that because people aren’t getting as many hours as they used to due to cuts, they need to stay and work for the money.
“They’re getting force-fed this idea that if you go home, you don’t get furlough, you won’t get money, so what are you going to do?”
Cheri O’Donnell, 24, a bartender in Draffens, has worked for the company since February 2020 and spearheaded the call to action.
She said: “There was a really major company outbreak before Christmas.
“I missed Christmas with my family because I caught Covid on December 20.”
Mark added: “During the outbreak before Christmas, five out of eight members of staff in Frank’s got Covid.
“But they didn’t close for a week.
“We eventually got a message in the group chat saying we were going to close for an extended period of time due to a Covid outbreak.
“And this was a week after we found out about the first instance of a positive case in the company.”
Ewan McCallum, 22, who works in Bird and Bear said: “We found out about the Covid outbreak through whispers.
“In a group chat, one manager requested that no one publicise their positive Covid results so as to avoid tarnishing the company’s reputation.”
Claims staff not told about positive cases
The grievance also lists a failure to supply adequate protection, such as masks and hand soap, to staff.
Employees alleged that identified close contacts of Covid cases were expected to come into work — and were threatened with disciplinary action if they refused.
Staff were allegedly not told about close contacts in the workplace who had tested positive.
Three current employees claimed a previous grievance, without union support, was submitted to upper management around Christmas time in 2020. However, they say nothing was done to fix the issues raised.
Ewan said: “At one point at Bird & Bear, they just stopped buying the disposable surgical masks.
“After that point, it became this blasé attitude of ‘wear one if you want, we don’t really mind’.”
Ewan said one supervisor stopped wearing a mask and, because masks weren’t “readily available”, people who wanted to wear one couldn’t unless they brought their own.
“People have been told not to wear blue surgical masks or patterned masks, only the disposable black surgical masks that they previously supplied,” he said.
Cheri added: “It really depended what manager was on as well, because there were never clear-cut company-wide guidelines.
“One manager said to me that if I didn’t want to wear a mask, I just needed to tell them I had an exemption so they wouldn’t get their head chewed off for it.
“There’ve been times where there was no hand soap or sanitizer. So how can we ensure our safety and the guest’s safety?”
Ewan added: “It’s very much a show-must-go-on mentality.”
The chain also recently opened venues in Glasgow such as Abandon Ship, the Luchador, and the Bull. Glasgow workers have also signed the letter.
Firm rejects all claims
A spokesperson for MacMerry300 said: “Hospitality is a highly regulated industry where staff and customer safety is paramount.
“We first learned of any alleged issues today and are amazed that Unite took first to social media rather than raising any concerns with our management team.
“We would also point out that some of the reported complainers have not worked with us for over two years.
“We utterly refute the claims made and will be consulting with staff immediately to find out why allegations may have been levelled. We are of course also willing to discuss any genuine grievances or concerns.”
