UNION officials claim staff at a long standing Glasgow hospitality institution are to be given a pay cut as the business downgrades wages to the national minimum wage.
Brel, in the west end's Ashton Lane, will no longer be a real living wage employer, meaning a drop in basic wages of around 50p to 90p an hour for employees.
The Real Living Wage is a voluntary scheme businesses may choose to participate in; the national living wage is set by the government.
Unite said the change had been made with only little notice to workers and called the move "morally reprehensible".
However, a spokesperson for Brel said the company had to move to a "more sustainable" wage model and added that wages are topped up to an average of £13.14 an hour by customer tips.
As part of its new pay structure it had introduced a customer service charge, 100% of which is shared among staff.
An insider, who asked not to be named, said: "Brel is basically saying we are getting a pay rise by expecting the customers to make up the shortfall in our wages.
"If the customers don't tip - and not all of them do - we don't get the extra money so we're in a precarious position.
"It is a total cheek."
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Outwith London, the national minimum wage in the UK is £10.18 for those under 23 and £10.42 for those over 23.
The real living wage is £10.90 for everyone over the age of 18.
Brel also said that all staff, regardless of age, are paid the same rate and that the addition of customer tips represents a 14% pay rise.
Bryan Simpson, the Unite union’s lead organiser, told STV News that the Unite Hospitality branch is now urging the bar to backtrack on the plans.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Unite Hospitality (@FairHospitality) June 27, 2023
Workers at Brel in Glasgow have been told that they will no longer be paid the real living wage and will be reduced to minimum wage.
Our reps shall be meeting @itisoncom tomorrow to appeal.
The parent company made £5.5m in 2021 (most recent figures).
He said: “For such a profitable company to decide, with very little notice given to workers, to revoke their commitment to the real living wage is not just morally reprehensible, it may present a breach of contract and failure to consult with staff.
"On Wednesday we will be meeting with It Is On’s head of finance, in a last ditch attempt to resolve this dispute.
"We hope that he make the right decision to invest in the workers who actually make the profit, by overturning this decision and paying them the wages they need to live."
The basic staff rate previously was £9.90, which was the previous Real Living Wage, before an increase to £10.90 in April this year.
A spokesperson for Brel said: "Factually incorrect information has been circulated online including wildly inflated profit figures and suggestions of pay cuts.
"We want to clarify with the facts.
"The full front of house team at brel, regardless of age, were paid an average of £13.14 per hour between the period of April to June 2023, following a change in pay structure.
"Some 60% of our brel team are under the age of 23 – and we opt to pay the same rate of pay, even though government guidelines would allow us to pay significantly less.
"These figures represent a substantial increase on take-home at the same time last year and are higher than the current rate of Real Living Wage at £10.90.
"As part of the change in pay structure, amidst well-documented cost increases across the supply chain, we elected to move away from the voluntary Real Living Wage in place of a more sustainable model."
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She added: "Extensive planning and forecasting was undertaken before implementing the changes to secure the long-term future of the business, and jobs of our incredible team.
"As part of this, we introduced a service charge, 100% of which is shared between the team.
"This has resulted in a substantial increase in monthly take-home alongside an industry-leading benefits package.
"As this is an ongoing grievance and we are committed to a fair appeal process, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."
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