Ocean Basket at the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre owes staff over R800,000 in unpaid wages, claims the Department of Labour. Picture: Menlynpark
The Department of Employment and Labour says Ocean Basket needs to follow the correct channels to seek recourse if it disputed a finding by their inspectors, that they owed over R800,000 to staff in unpaid wages.
The restaurant has been told they can appeal the decision internally.
Ocean Basket has denied it owed any of their staff owed any monies, as reported by the Department of Employment and Labour in a press statement on Monday. The restaurant said it conducted its own independent investigation and found no evidence to support the allegations.
It said it relied on a commission structure to pay wages, claiming all its staff earned above the national minimum wage.
The restaurant chain told IOL this week that they were seeking a meeting with senior officials from the department to address claims that they owed staff R813,969 in unpaid wages, asking them to illustrate how they owed staff.
Labour’s departmental spokesperson, Teboho Thejane, in response to IOL’s queries regarding Harding’s requests and claims, explained that the inspectorate does not respond to notices issued to respective employers in the media.
“There’s a process and procedure to be followed in the event an employer is not satisfied with a notice issued to them and the department advises that employers follow that process,” said Thejane.
He said when inspectors conducted inspections in a workplace, they had a right to the shop floor, and procedurally, they would introduce themselves and outline the purpose of the inspection to management.
Ocean Basket chief executive officer Grace Harding had explained to IOL that they found out through a media statement about the department’s findings that they owed over R800,000 in unpaid wages.
“Absolutely no contact has been made or documentation supplied to us by the Department of Labour as evidence of where they got the figures they released to the media or to ask for our co-operation in resolving this,” said Harding.
Thejane said that inspectors engaged with the respective workplace management and provide information on the notices that would be issued.
“Management would also have a right to ask whatever questions they would have before receiving and signing off on them.
“Once notices are issued, the employer has a right to appeal in instances where they could be in disagreement through a formal process,” he added.
South Africa's restaurants, who form part of the country’s hospitality sector, are currently under the microscope following the joint operation sting at Babel restaurant in Menlyn. The sting operation, which was conducted by Home Affairs, Labour, the Hawks and the Bargaining Council, follows after Mihlali Nobavu lifted the lid on TikTok, about how waiters and waitresses were being allegedly exploited at the swanky new Pretoria East restaurant.
Nobavu shared how workers were paid no basic wage, had no contracts as workers, had to buy their own tools of trade, include uniform, but were only paid from tips. The Babel restaurant has since promised to rectify the situation after the intervention of the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Government departments are showing that no restaurant is untouchable even if a sting operation was initially not meant for your establishment it can come to your establishment.
This is exactly the situation at Ocean Basket Menlyn, where an undocumented delivery driver who had been picking up a meal order at Ocean Basket, was arrested during the raid at Babel restaurant.
IOL Lifestyle
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