Staff of popular Wellington restaurant Five Boroughs promised outstanding holiday pay following closure

January 31, 2018

Five Boroughs eatery owed its staff thousands of dollars when it went into voluntary liquidation.

Staff left out of pocket when a popular Wellington restaurant closed this month will get their outstanding holiday pay, the former owners say. 

The Five Boroughs eatery was put into liquidation on January 8, owing $32,431 to its staff in unused holiday entitlements. 

But, rather than wait for the results of the liquidation process, former owner Elie Assif told 1 NEWS this afternoon they have found enough money to cover the debt. 

"Today we have taken a personal loan, and received a legal assurance from the liquidators that this money will be paid to the staff. They will receive every cent they are owed," he said.

He said he "felt sick" when he learned the staff might not get paid, but they always wanted to do their best by the staff who he describes as "family".

It will come as some relief to their former employees who have been battling to get what they're owed. 

"We enjoyed working here! It was the time of my life. Its such a shame its ended the way it has. It sucks," former employee Fiona Hewitt said.

She and her workmates want their situation to be a warning to others in the industry.

"The relationship is quite casual. You hang out with your employers after work, everyone is friends. Until something goes wrong, basically." 

The former staff had been getting help from Ben Peterson from Unions Wellington. He says all workers need to be aware of their rights, and a first step for workers is to check their contract of employment.

"I think the hospitality industry has got a bad culture of everyone having a good time but not paying attention to their rights and it works - until things go wrong. And in this case it's gone really wrong." 

The liquidators of Five Boroughs, Shephard Dunphy, say among its creditors it owes IRD around $250,000, plus extra fines. They say the business had been "under-capitalised from the start" and struggled to keep up with its rapid growth. 

CEO of the Restaurant Association, Marissa Bidois, says cases like this are rare, but the workers should be able to find other jobs. 

"Don't give up on it. There are lots of other opportunities and lots of other owners who need your help," she said.

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