TGI Fridays Derby staff 'hung out to dry' after 'ruthless' decision to close branch

In a last-minute video call bosses read from a script that blamed 'the usual suspects' - Covid, the cost-of-living crisis and even the war in Ukraine

Staff from Derby's TGI Friday's branch have been left disgusted after a "ruthless" and "last-minute" call to axe nearly 30 jobs. The closure on Monday, October 7, came just three weeks after it was confirmed the future of the restaurant chain was in doubt after the company’s owner suffered a near-total collapse in its share price and put all UK restaurants up for sale.

Members of staff - some of which were in the restaurant at the time - told how they went to work on Monday thinking it was just a "normal day" - but just a few hours later they were left without a job and forced to bid farewell to their colleagues and friends. One staff member, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: "We have been treated disgracefully, they are a ruthless and nasty company who have no regard for the welfare of their staff.

"We received an email at 8am on Monday saying it was predicted that the sale of certain assets of the business would be concluded later that day. It informed managers who were set to open the store to attend as usual, but to not open the branch to the public.

"After waiting around the store, wondering what was going on, another email came in at 12pm, telling us that we must attend a meeting at 1pm. When we joined the meeting, all of our microphones were muted and we listened to the scripted higher-ups talk about their plans.

"They told us that our store would be closed permanently and that all staff members on the call would be made redundant. A few of us had gathered in a pub in Derby to watch the call. We just couldn't believe it. We were speechless. We felt worthless. We have been hung out to dry"

The staff member then told how they would need to claim for statutory redundancy pay, arrears of pay, compensatory notice pay and holiday pay from the Insolvency Service, with TGI refusing to fork out the cash itself. One staff member believes they are owed more than £1,500 and said they would not be paid their wages from September 17 until September 29, only being able to claim wages from September 30 until October 6.

Another anonymous member of staff at the Derby branch added: "We had a fantastic team, some of which had worked there from the start more than a decade ago, and I'm just devastated that I won't be able to see them all on a daily basis. I'm not so worried about myself, I think I'll be able to find a new role, but I really worry for the rest of my staff.

"Finding a job is so hard even if you get the deserved redundancy pay and all of your wages, but with no support whatsoever, how are we meant to pay our bills and survive? These ruthless and cut-throat businesses need holding to account - to think they would cite a lack of money as a reason to not pay staff is a joke, they are a huge company and they definitely have the money.

"They blamed the usual suspects, Covid, cost-of-living and the war in Ukraine. To think they would use the deaths of thousands of innocent people as an excuse to save their own skin is just a disgrace. It tells you everything you need to know."

They also called it a "slap in the face" when, on Tuesday, the TGI Fridays' social media account posted a message to UK customers, informing them of a "positive future". The message wrote: "You may have seen the news this week regarding new owners of TGI Friday's in the UK.

"This marks the start of a positive future for TGI Friday's, and we look forward to welcoming you to one of our restaurants soon." When asked by Derbyshire Live for comment on its treatment of staff, a representative from the company refused to provide a statement.