Chinese Restaurant Race Payout
A CHESTER Chinese has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds in damages to former employees.
The restaurant, Elements in Cheshire Oaks Outlet Village, was found guilty at a tribunal of race discrimination after five ex-employees sued.
The workers on top of the race discrimination charges, claimed victimisation, unlawful deductions from pay and tips and failure to provide written statements of employment.
£2,000 was awarded to each for injury to feelings, as well as between £4,500 and £10,000 for other grievances.
Two claimants were of white British origin, one was Thai British, one Portugese and the other Singaporean, all complained of receiving different treatment to the restaurant’s Chinese employees.
Tip distribution was one of the key bones in the case, with the five non-Chinese staff only taking home about one per cent of the turnover in tips, as opposed to about five to 10 per cent.
An anonymous employee at Elements said: "The verdict of the tribunal is not very fair to the restaurant or to myself. I`m a full-time person here and we work long hours. I have family myself and I work all weekends and bank holidays. I love the restaurant and I love the customers and I don`t want anything to happen here.
"I don`t know what the future is for here now because they are struggling."
