The former employee told The Herald: “It was Wednesday December 4, I went into work and I’d been asked to come in slightly earlier.
“The owner, Ian McAnally, had been on holiday for two or three weeks so we’d arranged that we’d come in a little bit earlier and catch up on what had been going on in the business.
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“I went in and was told to sit down, and he said ‘I need to let you go. Either you can hand in your resignation or it’ll be done via the disciplinary route’.
“I said I wouldn’t resign and asked what the disciplinary would be for and he said it would be gross misconduct.
“I asked ‘what for?’ and he said, ‘I’ve made up my mind, I’ve made up my mind’.
“I was in floods of tears, I had no idea what was going on. I asked him to confirm he wasn’t going through any disciplinary procedures, do an investigation, suspend me on pay or any of that and he said, ‘I’ve made up my mind, you need to leave’.”
The employee contacted Unite Hospitality, but their attempts to make contact with Mr McAnally, who opened Birdhouse after relocating from Ayrshire in 2024, were unsuccessful.
The worker eventually went to an employment tribunal, which Mr McAnally also did not respond to.
They said: “I wasn’t given any opportunity to improve if there had been something wrong, so I got in contact with the union and since then he’s ignored an abundance of emails from myself, the union, ACAS, the tribunal. He’s ignored every single thing.
“I was left with nothing, I had no money and couldn’t get a job two weeks before Christmas because everyone had already hired their Christmas staff.
“I couldn’t get a job for about two months, my mental health plummeted. I’ve never been that low in my life, I was afraid to leave the house because I live about five minutes from the property.
“I had to go and live with my sister for a while because I couldn’t look after myself.
“It went to tribunal because he ignored absolutely everything, I think he might have answered one phone call from ACAS and essentially shouted at the woman down the phone.
“It’s been going on for seven months.
“I had a copy of the employee handbook, I was scanning everything on my phone, sending over text messages.
“There was one where he said, ‘As I haven’t received a resignation letter from you, I’m assuming that you’re not going down that route. In that case this Friday’s pay will be your last, processing your P45 and you’ll receive two weeks’ pay up to December 8’.
“That’s contrary to his own employee handbook where if you’re dismissed or resigning you get four weeks’ notice. I was out on the street immediately, no pay, no compensation.”
On June 6 judge Eccles issued a judgement based on the available material ordering Birdhouse to pay £1,624 in damages for breach of contract in respect of notice, and £20 for unpaid tips.
He has 28 days to make the payment, but the worker in question said repeated attempts to contact Mr McAnally to confirm payment had been ignored.
He did not respond to a request for comment from The Herald.
Bryan Simpson, lead organiser for Unite Hospitality said: “The way in which our member has been treated by the owner of Birdhouse is not just morally reprehensible, it’s unlawful.
“This has been reinforced by an unequivocal judgement which awarded maximum compensation. If Mr McAnally doesn’t pay up, we shall be forced to take further action to recoup the monies owed and freeze assets.”
