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Hello everyone,
I am writing on behalf of my parter, but since I will be basically funding the next moves, I'd like some advice on whether my beliefs are correct, or whether I may need to suggest she handle something different.
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My partner works in the hospitality trade, namely a public house. In 2017, the old landlord left and a new landlord arrived. The public house in question is an Everards establishment, so as per their guidelines, all contracts with employees are TUPE'd over, unless the new potential tenant/landlord requests the previous landlord make them redundant before takeover.
Long story short, my partner is very good at running that pub - she has ran it under at least 4 previous landlords and can run it with her eyes closed, so when the new landlord tried to cut corners financially - not buying suitable cleaning fluids, cutting staff hours to the point there was a single member of staff on site at some points, which the police and licensing office had told him not to let happen, since if an accident happened, there was nobody else (staff wise) on site to assist.
She has her license to run a public house, so knows what should be done, so they naturally clashed a little because what he was doing was unethical at best, but probably illegal, but they eventually come to some kind of common ground because the landlord is rarely actually on the premises, and he needed her to practically run the place while he was absent.
Fast forward to just before the first covid lockdown, and the landlord meets a new partner and she starts to work at the pub "voluntarily" - reality is, it was most likely cash in hand work, and undeclared. Anyway, this "volunteer" decides one evening, after hours when the cash up happens etc, to verbally abuse my partner (in front of the landlord) and as a result, my partner somehow ended up being handed a brown envelope, over the bar whilst working, which was an "official warning" for subordination (No, not insubordination as he intended to write) and at that point, her pay was altered without contract change, or mention in the hand written, non-company headed, "official warning".
The new value she was marked as salaried to was £350. Now, my partner works 52 hours minimum, per week, so this is far below minimum wage.
Shortly after this. COVID lockdowns kicked in and her pay, at 80%, seemed somewhat correct - or maybe we miscalculated - so nothing more was thought about it, until recently at the end of the second lockdown when they return to work properly and he says "We (silent partner and him) have decided to give you a pay rise of £50" - my partner receives her pay the first week and it's again low.
She raises this with the landlord and he says "We gave you a raise on 350, to 400" - which is still lower than minimum wage, and she informs him as such. He said he will sort it out. 5 weeks have now passed, she reminds him weekly that it's wrong and he isn't paying her the legal minimum wage, and every week, nothing is changing.
On top of this, when this lockdown ended, he moved 2 people into the flat above the pub who were there for "training". As my partners title is manager, she handles paying everyone if the landlord isn't present (most days), so on opening the pay sheet to sort out pay, she finds that one of the people is not on the books and paid cash, and the second is paid the equivalent of £12 per hour, while she, as the manager, isn't even getting minimum wage paid out.
Worth noting that when drunk, the 2 new people like to tell customers how they plan to force my partner out of her job somehow and they will manage the pub - something I've come to believe the landlord actually bought them along for, hence why he is now never present at the pub, other than a couple of hours, here and there on random days.
Which leads me to the following questions:
1. I know deductions of earnings is illegal, but who would this be reported to?
2. Since the new person is on far more hourly rate than her, and is living in the flat above (partners contract is actually live in manager, but when landlords came that wanted to live there themselves, she didn't live there - but no contracts changed), could this be deemed as constructive dismissal, and her force redundancy? The new people are claiming they are there to manage, they are paid more than her, and the landlord is refusing to pull a staff meeting to outline their role.
3. What other options does she have here?
Honestly, this has been going bad for so long, I'd love to think she can force redundancy via constructive dismissal, take her 20 years of redundancy pay (heard this may be 12 now?), her holiday pay, and find a work environment that's not so toxic.
She seems to like the place though, regardless of the landlord - I guess 20 years of working with the same customers just makes a place feel like home, but I think slowly she is looking for a way out too.
I am writing on behalf of my parter, but since I will be basically funding the next moves, I'd like some advice on whether my beliefs are correct, or whether I may need to suggest she handle something different.
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My partner works in the hospitality trade, namely a public house. In 2017, the old landlord left and a new landlord arrived. The public house in question is an Everards establishment, so as per their guidelines, all contracts with employees are TUPE'd over, unless the new potential tenant/landlord requests the previous landlord make them redundant before takeover.
Long story short, my partner is very good at running that pub - she has ran it under at least 4 previous landlords and can run it with her eyes closed, so when the new landlord tried to cut corners financially - not buying suitable cleaning fluids, cutting staff hours to the point there was a single member of staff on site at some points, which the police and licensing office had told him not to let happen, since if an accident happened, there was nobody else (staff wise) on site to assist.
She has her license to run a public house, so knows what should be done, so they naturally clashed a little because what he was doing was unethical at best, but probably illegal, but they eventually come to some kind of common ground because the landlord is rarely actually on the premises, and he needed her to practically run the place while he was absent.
Fast forward to just before the first covid lockdown, and the landlord meets a new partner and she starts to work at the pub "voluntarily" - reality is, it was most likely cash in hand work, and undeclared. Anyway, this "volunteer" decides one evening, after hours when the cash up happens etc, to verbally abuse my partner (in front of the landlord) and as a result, my partner somehow ended up being handed a brown envelope, over the bar whilst working, which was an "official warning" for subordination (No, not insubordination as he intended to write) and at that point, her pay was altered without contract change, or mention in the hand written, non-company headed, "official warning".
The new value she was marked as salaried to was £350. Now, my partner works 52 hours minimum, per week, so this is far below minimum wage.
Shortly after this. COVID lockdowns kicked in and her pay, at 80%, seemed somewhat correct - or maybe we miscalculated - so nothing more was thought about it, until recently at the end of the second lockdown when they return to work properly and he says "We (silent partner and him) have decided to give you a pay rise of £50" - my partner receives her pay the first week and it's again low.
She raises this with the landlord and he says "We gave you a raise on 350, to 400" - which is still lower than minimum wage, and she informs him as such. He said he will sort it out. 5 weeks have now passed, she reminds him weekly that it's wrong and he isn't paying her the legal minimum wage, and every week, nothing is changing.
On top of this, when this lockdown ended, he moved 2 people into the flat above the pub who were there for "training". As my partners title is manager, she handles paying everyone if the landlord isn't present (most days), so on opening the pay sheet to sort out pay, she finds that one of the people is not on the books and paid cash, and the second is paid the equivalent of £12 per hour, while she, as the manager, isn't even getting minimum wage paid out.
Worth noting that when drunk, the 2 new people like to tell customers how they plan to force my partner out of her job somehow and they will manage the pub - something I've come to believe the landlord actually bought them along for, hence why he is now never present at the pub, other than a couple of hours, here and there on random days.
Which leads me to the following questions:
1. I know deductions of earnings is illegal, but who would this be reported to?
2. Since the new person is on far more hourly rate than her, and is living in the flat above (partners contract is actually live in manager, but when landlords came that wanted to live there themselves, she didn't live there - but no contracts changed), could this be deemed as constructive dismissal, and her force redundancy? The new people are claiming they are there to manage, they are paid more than her, and the landlord is refusing to pull a staff meeting to outline their role.
3. What other options does she have here?
Honestly, this has been going bad for so long, I'd love to think she can force redundancy via constructive dismissal, take her 20 years of redundancy pay (heard this may be 12 now?), her holiday pay, and find a work environment that's not so toxic.
She seems to like the place though, regardless of the landlord - I guess 20 years of working with the same customers just makes a place feel like home, but I think slowly she is looking for a way out too.
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