FERGUS – A provincial board has ruled a Fergus restaurant needs to pay thousands of dollars in overtime and public holiday wages to two of its former employees.
According to a decision posted on CanLII, the Ontario Labour Relations Board dismissed two applications for review payment orders totalling over $31,000 from the Breadalbane restaurant to a former executive chef and sous-chef and over $3,000 in administrative costs to the board.
The board ruled the two employees were not subject to the managerial exemption from overtime or public holiday pay because a majority of their work hours involved non-managerial and non-supervisory duties.
The decision said the former employees testified persistent understaffing and frequent turnover at the restaurant placed them in the position where they were required to spend most of their time restricting their duties to food preparation, cooking and clean-up rather than management tasks.
The Breadalbane's owner submitted that the two employees had agreed to annual salaries based on 50-hour work weeks and their overtime claims should be dismissed.
They also argued the two employees were not entitled to public holiday pay because they had received time off in lieu but the board ruled the restaurant did not provide a written statement before the public holiday that sets out the public holiday the employee will work and what date will be substituted which is required under the Employment Standards Act.
The board directed the director of employment standards to pay the amounts held in trust in favour of the two employees.
The former executive chef is to be paid a little over $20,000 and the sous-chef over $10,000.
