Blagdon: Staff owed pay after sudden pub closure, says chef

An employee of a pub that closed suddenly last year says he is still owed money from the pub's landlord.

Michael Ford worked as a chef at The Seymour Arms in Blagdon, north Somerset, for 14 months. An employment tribunal ruled in July 2022 that he was owed £2,012.00 for holidays.

"I was working seven days a week with just two days off," said Mr Ford.

The BBC has contacted the pub's landlord, Carl Francis-Pester, for comment.

Mr Francis-Pester, a councillor at Clevedon Town Council, has run other pubs in the Somerset area before.

He declared bankruptcy in 2018 in response to unpaid debts to Butcombe Brewery.

Mr Ford is now pursuing the matter through bailiffs to try and get his money back after The Seymour Arms closed suddenly in November.

He says other staff members are also waiting to be paid.

"I left in July 2022 and I went to Acas Mediation and he didn't respond," Mr Ford said. "I tried so many times calling him and writing letters.

"I think he got back to one, promising a response but it was a complete no-show."

Mr Ford said he had found his time working at the pub "exhausting".

"We had breakfasts and Sunday roasts to cook," he said.

"One time, there hadn't been hot water for five days and Carl was telling management not to call guests booked in the hotel to warn them.

"It resulted in a bride staying there and she couldn't wash her hair on the morning of the wedding. It was like Fawlty Towers," he said.

The BBC has contacted the pub's landlord, Carl Francis-Pester, for comment. In a previous email to the BBC when the pub closed in November, Mr Francis-Pester said: "Staff and suppliers will be paid in full".

At the time, he said a "significant downturn in business coupled with a huge proposed rent increase and recent government announcements made the decision to close more urgent".

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