Bitter dispute

Photo: Picture: ANTHONY MILLER

SHOCKED AFTER SACKINGS... Former Maloney’s staff (from left) Jennifer Harte, Lizzie Whitehead, Nicola Riley, Trevor Moulton, Nicola Flint, Kris Bowker and Will Freeman

Bar sacks everyone over stock ‘fiddle’
SHOCKED staff are considering legal action after a town centre cocktail bar sacked its work force amid allegations that thousands of pounds of stock has gone missing.

But the nine workers at Maloneys in Yorkshire Street say they are not responsible and allege bosses refused to carry out an investigation or provide evidence.

Staff were sent letters last week, after a new manager started, asking them to attend a meeting with Chris Capper, general manager of parent company Yesteryear Pub Company.

He wrote “Unfortunately, we are faced with an extremely serious situation in Oldham whereby we have continued to lose a significant amount of stock over a sustained period.

“The steps taken previously to address this issue have not resolved the problem and, indeed, since our last stock take on 14th Jan 09 further stock in the region of £4,000 has gone missing.”

At the meeting last Thursday they were told they were sacked. Letters sent out terminating their employment confirmed: “The decision has been made that the only way to deal with this matter is to remove the entire staff.”

Nicola Riley has been left jobless after working behind the bar for more than two years. The 20-year-old, from Chadde-rton, said: “I was totally gutted.Everyone is gobsmacked.

“We were all sacked on the spot; no investigation and no other reason than stock loss that was nothing to do with us. When asked, they refused to prove it was anything to do with us.

“None of us has received warnings or had any problems with our jobs. New staff were brought in on Friday so it had all been planned.”

Cleaner and mum-of-six Jennifer Harte (36) from Higginshaw village is now struggling and said: “I was gutted. It was a shock.”

Lizzie Whitehead (19) from Shaw was working as a glass collector to boost her student loan and said: “I used to come home from Leeds to work to get extra cash to do the food shopping.”

The former employees have contacted the Citizens Advice Bureau and are considering lodging an appeal for unfair dismissal.

Nicola added: “At a time when unemployment is high in Oldham and we are struggling for jobs, it is unfair to give away the jobs we have worked so hard to keep when we have done nothing wrong.”

Tony Callaghan, managing director of Yesteryear declined to comment.