Former workers at a Glasgow music venue have won an employment tribunal nine months after the venue closed.
Note 13 Liquidators were summoned in July last year It comes after staff began a series of strikes citing contract, health and safety and rodent infestation issues.
At the time, owners said union action had left the business “insolvent”.
But a judge has now ruled that the company broke union laws by proposing to sack more than 20 employees without giving 90 days’ notice.
An employment judge has found that Javacrest Ltd, run by Jaqueline Fennessy, failed to elect and consult with employee representatives over redundancy procedures.
Javacrest Ltd, which is in liquidation, has now been ordered to pay former employees 90 days’ wages.
Workers hope to take over the lease on the site from the company. Glasgow City Council and reopened it under new ownership.
Nick Troy, chief representative of Unite at The 13th Note, said: “We formed the union to win a fairer and safer workplace at The 13th Note, but our employers did everything they could to stop us, including closing us down workplace.
“When it came time to lay off us, the company didn’t even have the courtesy to notify us first — issuing a press release to the media before telling workers they were out of a job.
“Having justice served, we can now turn our focus to getting venues back into the hands of workers so that Glasgow has a unionized pub and music venue that pays workers and respects workers.”
Just days after the first 48-hour strike was held over the weekend of 14-16 July 2023, owner Ms Fennessy announced the closure of the business after 21 years.
This is Scotland’s first pub workers strike in more than 20 years Coinciding with a busy public holiday for the Glasgow Fair.
The strike is expected to continue every weekend until August 6, 2023.
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Ms Finnis claimed she was forced to close the venue permanently due to “significant reductions in revenue” due to United Hotels’ involvement.
She added that claims of serious health and safety issues were “simply not true”. However, the pub was briefly closed due to environmental health concerns due to a rat infestation.
Bryan Simpson, Unite’s lead organizer for the hospitality industry, said: “Let this serve as a warning to unscrupulous hospitality employers around the world; your workers will win justice and Unite will support them.”
Ms Finnis has been contacted for comment.
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