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From Heston to Calombaris, these celebrity restaurant wage-theft scandals point to a bigger problem

The latest celebrity-chef-linked wage-theft scandals involving Heston Blumenthal and George Calombaris are the tip of the iceberg for wage exploitation in the hospitality industry.
The Conversation
George Calombaris
Celebrity chef George Calombaris arrives at the Downing Centre court complex in Sydney on Wednesday, January 31, 2018. Source: AAP Image/Daniel Munoz.

By Richard Robinson and Matthew Brenner, The University of Queensland

The latest celebrity-chef-linked wage-theft scandal, with the high-end restaurant Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in Melbourne allegedly underpaying its staff by $4 million, is the tip of the iceberg for wage exploitation in the hospitality industry.

Blumenthal joins a line of celebrity chefs linked to cases of million-dollar wage theft.

Thereโ€™s former Masterchef judge George Calombarisโ€™s company underpaying staff by $7.8 million. Thereโ€™s Shannon Bennettโ€™s Vue de monde restaurant accused of forcing staff to work up to 30 hours of unpaid overtime each week. Thereโ€™s Neil Perryโ€™s Rockpool Dining Group, accused of โ€œaudaciousโ€ time-sheet tampering potentially worth up to $10 million in unpaid overtime.

While the Rockpool claim has yet to be adjudicated by Australiaโ€™s Fair Work Ombudsman, it did agree in October 2018 to back-pay staff $1.6 million. Perry told Fairfax Media Rockpool had made โ€œa few changesโ€ to better comply with the law.

โ€œItโ€™s always hard in restaurants,โ€ he said, โ€œbut I believe we would be one of very few, if any, that are complying with it currently.โ€

Our research, in partnership with William Angliss Institute, suggests heโ€™s right about that. Since mid-2018 weโ€™ve interviewed 180 culinary students, apprentice chefs and mature chefs as part of an ongoing study into mental health and wellbeing in the hospitality industry.

What theyโ€™ve told us confirms worker exploitation is institutionalised. In particular it takes three forms: unpaid overtime; not paying correct penalty rates; and making those looking for jobs do free work trials.

Our provisional findings confirm those of the 2018 Senate inquiry into corporate avoidance of the Fair Work Act. The inquiryโ€™s final report cited Victorian estimates that 79% of hospitality employers did not comply with the national award wage system.

What weโ€™ve found isnโ€™t just that wage theft is rife. Whatโ€™s notable is that it is less like burglary and more like daylight robbery. Most staff know they are being paid less than what they are entitled to but accept it as โ€œthe normโ€.

Unpaid overtime

Dinner by Heston, which went into liquidation in December, allegedly underpaid staff by at least $4 million over four years, according to the administratorโ€™s report leaked to The New Daily. The restaurant carries Blumenthalโ€™s name though he does not own it.

Former Dinner by Heston chef William Trist told The New Daily he never worked fewer than 60 hours a week, and sometimes more than 80 hours.

Our findings are in line with this and the other celebrity-linked cases mentioned above. Unpaid overtime is the most common form of wage theft. Many chefs and apprentices told us of working more than 20 hours of unpaid work a week during peak periods.

Expectations of unpaid overtime was described to us an intrinsic part of the hospitality business model. It wasnโ€™t a case of inadvertent compliance due to a complicated award system (as suggested by one-time MasterChef Australia judge Matt Moran).

It was clear to both bosses and workers. One apprentice told us their employer justified it in the following terms: โ€œWe donโ€™t have the budget for it. So we need to wait until we have the budget and pay you.โ€

Penalty rates and entitlements

The next most common form of wage theft, our research suggests, is not paying penalty rates. The majority of interviewees worked Sunday shifts or overtime or through breaks in exchange for the promise of time off, or accepted as compensation meals that might have been thrown away anyway.

Our interviews also suggest underpayment of entitlements such as superannuation contributions is common. Younger workers in particular were often unaware their superannuation was not being paid correctly until it was too late.

One factor contributing to this is the cash culture in the hospitality industry. As one apprentice told us: โ€œAt my first job I asked them if I could be on the books and they said yes, but I didnโ€™t get any pay slips. When I left that job I asked my former manager if I have a superannuation account or something, and he said noโ€.

Unpaid work trials

Unpaid work trials appear to be common too. Two young chefs told us about being duped by the same Sydney restaurant, being asked to work at least three days for free. Neither were offered a job. โ€œTalking to my classmates,โ€ a culinary student said, โ€œitโ€™s common doing free trialsโ€.

One cultural tradition contributing to owners pulling this stunt is the โ€œchefโ€™s sabbaticalโ€, when aspirational chefs do โ€œstagesโ€, working for free in renowned restaurants to learn from esteemed chefs. A โ€œstagiaireโ€ may volunteer for up to six months to hone their craft and improve their career prospects.

โ€œIโ€™ve done loads of stages,โ€ one chef told us. She travelled for months in the United States and Britain, working in the best restaurants for free. She accepted it was standard practice in the industry to build a career.

Toxic culture

When our research is complete, we hope to be able to better quantify the extent to which industry practices contribute to poor mental health among hospitality workers.

Our provisional qualitative results suggest the effect is significant. Those weโ€™ve talked to have told about the stresses of putting up with wage theft or seeking to address it.

โ€œIt was like a mental torture for me,โ€ said one apprentice chef, โ€œworking โ€˜til four o’clock, getting paid ’til one oโ€™clockโ€.

Another apprentice told us how his boss โ€œwent ballisticโ€, throwing a glass jar at the wall when he asked about his entitlements. โ€œI had a massive anxiety attack.โ€

This toxic culture is contributing to workers quitting the industry. Thatโ€™s a problem for a sector facing a shortage of 59,500 chefs by 2023 compounded by rising traineeship incompletion rates.The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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