Ex-Sepia sommelier sues former bosses
A sommelier at the now closed fine diner Sepia is suing his former bosses Martin Benn and Vicki Wild for several hundred thousand dollars of unpaid wages.
A former Good Food Guide sommelier of the year, Rodney Setter has claimed he regularly worked excessive unpaid hours at the high-end Sydney restaurant and was denied any redundancy pay despite 10 years’ service.
Benn and Wild closed Sepia to begin a new venture in Melbourne with restaurateur Chris Lucas. Setter claims he was offered work at the new restaurant by the Lucas Group but with no offer of continuity of service and only some of his relocation costs.
After he declined two offers, his job at Sepia was terminated without any redundancy pay, his claim states.
Setter was paid $52,000 a year when he started at Sepia in 2009 and regularly worked in excess of 60 hours a week, despite being only paid for 38 hours, according to his claim.
8th April 2019
