Woman underpaid

Oct 30 2007 by Jule Wilson, The Journal

A UKRAINIAN woman has been awarded almost £5,000 in damages after winning a sex discrimination claim against the former owner of a Newcastle hotel.

Yaroslava Reay, 31, took her boss Roland Craig, who inherited the Grapevine Bar and Bistro and Vine Hotel from his father John in 2006, to an employment tribunal, claiming she had been paid incorrectly throughout her employment because she was a female immigrant worker.

She also claimed unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of race.

Giving evidence at the Newcastle tribunal yesterday, Mrs Reay said she had begun work as a housekeeper at the Grapevine, in Marlborough Crescent, Newcastle, on August 15, 2005, but would frequently work in the bar, in the kitchen and as a cleaner.

She said she had been hired on the basis that she would receive the national minimum wage for 36 hours each week, but the tribunal heard she received her wages by cheque and was never given any itemised pay slips so she could check the amounts that had been deducted.

The tribunal found that Mrs Reay, of Gateshead, had been paid £2,125 less than she was entitled for the duration of her employment at the Grapevine, which has since ceased to trade, the premises having been taken over by the Bengal Brasserie.

Mrs Reay also said she had not been paid for a short holiday she took to her native Ukraine over Christmas and New Year in 2005/6 and had never received any other time off as holiday.

She told the tribunal that last December, Mr Craig had told her the business would be closing for refurbishment from January 1 this year.

She said: “I said if he needed me he would call me, but he never did.”

Mrs Reay, who now works at clothing store Primark, told the tribunal she had made several attempts to speak to Mr Craig about returning to work, even writing a letter of grievance to which she received no response.

She told the panel she had discovered co-workers had returned to work in her absence, and had informed her that Mr Craig himself was carrying out her duties.

She said she had felt forced to seek alternative employment. “I felt I had no alternative but to resign.” She said: “I think I was treated differently because I am a Ukrainian national or because I am a woman.”

Mr Craig was not present at the hearing and offered no evidence to the panel.

Rejecting her claim for racial or religious discrimination but agreeing that Mrs Reay had been discriminated against on the grounds of sex, chairman of the panel Barrie Speker awarded her a total of £4,850, including £535 in compensation for constructive dismissal, £2,125 in unpaid wages, £401 in holiday pay and £500 compensation for injury to feelings.

Mrs Reay declined to comment after the judgment and Mr Craig could not be traced for a comment.