Pizza Hut, which has a branch in Inverness, under fire for new policies after Unite calls out ‘reprehensible’ behaviour towards employees

A pizza franchise with a branch in Inverness has been hit by protests as workers across the country have accused the company of “blatantly unlawful” behaviour.

Glenshire Brands, owner of Pizza Hut takeaway franchises in Scotland — which owns a takeaway venue near the bus station — has come under fire after union Unite said that cooks, cleaners and delivery drivers are “enduring wage theft” and the “denial of breaks” across 23 takeaway outlets in Scotland.

The company was accused of a series of changes in the policies and payment to employees introduced in March.

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Among them is the removal of the “drivers’ commission” earlier this month, which amounted to £1.45 per delivery and it was paid for over 15 years amounting up to £80 a week for drivers.

Unite also heavily criticised a new policy saying that all leave requests must be made 4-weeks in advance, and not permitting a carry-over of the annual holiday period after March 31, with the union saying workers were disbarred from taking any accrued remaining leave, and many were also not paid for leave they had submitted.

Sharon Graham Unite general secretary said: “The behaviour of Glenshire Brands across Pizza Hut outlets in Scotland is deplorable and reprehensible. The company has launched a full-on assault on workers' pay and conditions which will have a serious impact on our members' take-home pay.”

Bryan Simpson, Unite's lead organiser for hospitality said: “The way our members have been treated by the Glenshire Group is morally reprehensible and almost certainly illegal. This is a cynical attempt to demolish pay and conditions for some of the lowest-paid workers in the economy — to cut labour costs and lurch towards bogus self-employment. “

Two collective grievances were raised on the loss of drivers’ commission with workers across the Pizza Hut stores raising a grievance on the leave, breaks and health and safety issues.

A spokesperson for Glenshire Brands replied to the accusations — denying any changes to the annual leave or breaks policy and adding that the collective grievances were sent by Unite on behalf of less than 10 per cent of their employees.

They said: “We can confirm that we received the two collective grievances on Sunday 23rd March, with the first relating to our delivery drivers’ compensations and the second relating to concerns including annual leave and rest break policies. These grievances will be thoroughly investigated in line with our grievance process.

“Glenshire are absolutely committed to robust employment practices including honouring all annual leave and break entitlement for our almost 800 colleagues.

“Driver Commissions have not been reduced, rather the remuneration model has changed from a ‘per delivery’ amount to a ‘per mile’ basis to better reflect fuel expenses and ensure insurance costs are covered. Alongside this, we have increased gross pay rates by bringing forward the National Living Wage and Minimum Wage increases by up to £1.20 per hour.

“There are categorically no blanket changes to self-employed contracts taking place. In addition, there have been no changes to break policies or annual leave entitlement.

“We are very much listening to our colleagues, to understand where there are any concerns and how we can swiftly resolve these and have organised internal meetings to hear their concerns.”

They added that there has been a voluntary option for drivers to either change roles, or take up a self-employment contract “should they find this more financially lucrative”, however this is a voluntary option.

If Pizza Hut takeaway venues are owned by Glenshire Brands, restaurants are part of a separate franchise, with the eatery located at Inverness Shopping Park owned by Directional Capital.

A spokesperson for Pizza Hut UK said: "Pizza Hut is deeply committed to ensuring a safe and fair working environment for all employees and as such has strict policies in place that its franchise businesses must adhere to.

“Although Glenshire Group operates as an independent franchisee and is ultimately responsible for its own employment practices, we take these allegations seriously.

“Glenshire will be actively engaging in the coming days with any concerned employees, and we will continue to investigate this situation.”

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