Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Italian Grill staff claim they found out about Dundee restaurant closure on social media

Italian Grill
Italian Grill

Staff at Italian Grill in Dundee claim they only found out about the restaurant’s closure on social media – with just a few days’ notice.

The City Square venue has closed, as bosses carry out a refurb.

They have vowed to return following a rebranding in about four to six weeks.

But according to some employees, supervisors were informed of the plan just hours before it was announced on social media.

It is claimed they were told to spread the news to other staff members, but many still found out via Facebook or Instagram.

Employees ‘gutted’ by lack of notice

One employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I’m gutted. We’ve all got bills to pay, we’ve all got obligations.

“Some staff had been working there since the place opened.

“I’m just offended and let down.”

Owner Jonathan Horne insists that staff who are on zero-hours contracts were given a week’s notice that no hours would be available in the coming weeks due to the refurbishment.

The interior of the Italian Grill.

He says he accepts that some will decide to look for employment elsewhere due to the lack of income.

But he says no employees have been let go and hopes they will be available to work again once the restaurant is back open.

He told The Courier: “I have invited staff to a further meeting if they are available, to try and make things a bit clearer.

“It does seem that there has been some sort of misunderstanding of the situation.

No one has lost their job and we hope to renovate, refurbish, rebrand and reopen as quickly as possible

Owner Jonathan Horne

“No one has lost their job and we hope to renovate, refurbish, rebrand and reopen as quickly as possible.

“We want to get these guys back working again.”

Another employee, who has also asked to remain anonymous, says many feel they have been kept out the loop.

She said: “We were told on Thursday that we would be closing, and that Saturday would be our last day.

“It was then made the responsibility of management to tell the staff, but some people still found out through the Instagram post.

“Some of us have bills to pay.”

Union backing disgruntled staff

The claims have now been picked up by Unite, the UK’s biggest union.

Bryan Simpson, who works for the union’s hospitality sector, said: “Our members at Italian Grill were informed of the closure of their workplace two hours before the post on social media.

“Some of them weren’t told at all and found out via Facebook.”

Mr Simpson is urging the restaurant’s bosses to “consult collectively” with the union and staff on the matter.