Over 70 former employees of Jamie Oliver’s failed restaurant chain are planning to sue the group for up to £1 million, alleging that the redundancy process was carried out improperly and unfairly.
Law firm SDM Legal is currently representing more than 70 staff, with more expected to join the action, who worked at Barbecoa, Fifteen and Jamie’s Italian before the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group fell into administration in May with the loss of 1000 jobs. The planned proceedings relate to in-administration subsidiary companies Jamie’s Italian, One New Change formerly trading as Barbecoa] and Fifteen restaurant (London). It is understood that Jamie Oliver Holdings, the media and licensing arms of the chef’s business, are unaffected.
The staff members have claimed subsidiaries which were part of the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group failed to consult them for at least 30 days – the statutory minimum before making them redundant as part of an administration process.
Hannah Durham, a director at SDM Legal, said workers may be entitled to 90 days’ worth of gross pay under a full protection order.
“The impact of the administrations on our Claimants has been devastating and has created a very unsettling time for all former employees,” she told i.
“The law surrounding Redundancies and Protective Award payments can be extremely complex and at this early stage we are just pleased to be shedding light on their legal entitlements and initiating the group claim for a Protective Award as compensation for the failure to follow due process.
