Mandurah restaurant forced to shut down after staff walk out on mass
A Mandurah restaurant and bar were left without its staff on Friday night after fed up workers walked out over claims of understaffing and bullying by management.
Workers at The Local Shack walked out just before the dinner service following allegations from former staff about non-payment of overtime, bullying and a toxic workplace culture.
Speaking to WAtoday, 22-year-old Tayla Pyke, the former process manager, said three members of the eight-person restaurant team had quit earlier in the week.
“I had no floor staff, and I needed people. I called [management] and [they] said find me a solution and call me back,” she said.
Pyke’s attempt to have Grace Reilly, a chef from The Local Shack, fill in to bolster front of house numbers was rejected by management on the night.
“[Management] were throwing demands away, and asked why I was arguing back. I said I wasn't arguing back, [they] hadn't been there all week so I was trying to explain ... what's been happening," she told WAtoday.
“They were just being nasty.”
Reilly said that was when they all decided to walk out at once.
"I got the girls to walk in front of me ... we ran off to my car and got out of there and all met up down the road," she told WAtoday.
"It makes a statement, I just hope the place gets shut down and no one else ever has to experience the abuse ... when we all met up down the road with the other chef who left too, we all agreed we felt instant relief leaving."
The management closed the restaurant that night citing a gas leak.
A spokesman for The Local Shack said they had closed “due to events beyond our control”.
"The Local Shack does not know why they left, " the spokesman told WAtoday.
"All four employees have failed to contact The Local Shack or return phone calls."
The Local Shack and a manager have been ordered to pay a combined $45,200 in compensation and fines in the past 18 months by both the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Federal Court Circuit for the unfair dismissal of three employees.
Sheridan Randall, 13th November 2019
