Workers get pay out from Wagamama franchise owners in the United Kingdom

Sunday, 25 August 2019

Wagamama workers left thousands of dollars out of pocket are going to get some of their money back.

The workers were owed wages, holiday pay and bonuses when the Asian-fusion restaurant closed in July.

But the franchise owner in the United Kingdom has offered Kiwi employees a one off payment to make up what was lost.

The general manager of the Wellington restaurant, Soraya Edwards, said she was really happy that staff would see some of what they were owed.

Wagamama workers were left thousands of dollars out of pocket when the restaurant went into liquidation.

* Wage theft has become a business model in the hospitality industry

* Staff struggling to get what they are owed from failed restaurant chain Wagamama

* Freezing order shakes penalty payment out of restaurant chain**

'They have decided to give us a payment, as a kind gesture, a gift because they're not obligated to.'

Several staff emailed the franchise owners in the United Kingdom to outline the impact of the lost wages.

Soraya Edwards, former manager of Wagamama, says she is pleased the U.K franchise owners have stepped in to help.

The company responded by offering $30,000 to cover the missing wages and holiday pay.

Edwards said this was a positive outcome for the 23 employees who had lost thousands when the franchise closed down.

Wagamama had a restaurant in Wellington and three in Auckland before going in to receivership in July.

While the New Market, Sylvia Park and New Lynn stores closed, the Wellington store had initially rebranded to Mama Noodle House.

The Wellington restaurant closed its doors less than a month after the rebranding.

Workers were given little notice about the closure.

'We rebranded the whole restaurant then, boom, redundancy came out of nowhere,' Edwards said.

'My boss gave me a text and that was it.'

Edwards said hospitality workers needed to work together to try and strengthen their position after sudden closures.

'I definitely think it makes a difference getting the workers together, talking, communicating about what they want to achieve helps,' she said.

'In hospitality, you can work with campaigns like Raise the Bar. Getting organised and communicating really makes the difference.'

Edwards said suddenly losing thousands was really tough on the staff's mental health as well as their financial well being but they had all since found work.

While the payout was a positive outcome, there needed to be more transparency over the liquidation process so that workers could position themselves to claw back some of what they were owed, she said.

'I just wish the government would put something in place, better resources in place, so we can find the information easily and feel better supported,' she said.

'Also, wage theft needs to be a criminal offence. I just can't understand why it's not. It's bizarre. Everything is set up in favour of the business owner and we are just left standing with empty wallets and little hope.'

The full extent of wage theft in New Zealand is unclear, however, a landmark study in Australia found a silent underclass of vulnerable Australian workers was owed an estimated billion dollars with almost a third paid A$12 (NZ$13) per hour or less – almost half of their legal entitlements.