Florida Road’s Madam and Sir restaurant has publicly denied allegations of unpaid wages and unfair dismissals. Picture: Madam and Sir Facebook
Florida Road’s Madam and Sir restaurant has denied allegations made by former employees claiming they were not paid and unfairly dismissed.
The controversy erupted earlier this week following a viral TikTok video featuring testimonials from ex-staff members.
The video, posted by Sicelo Xaba, featured former employees who detailed their troubling experiences.
“So you are not allowed to tell other people that you have not been paid? Now you are dismissed for enquiring about your salary,” Xaba asked one of the staff members.
The staff member responded with: “Yes, that’s all they said to me. I wish there could be change happening. A lot is happening at Madam and Sir. We don’t have contracts, and we don’t get paid for overtime. When you enquire about it, they fire you.”
Another individual indicated they had not received payment for the past two months, while another shared their distress over being evicted where he was renting due to delayed salaries.
Owner Nqobile Mthembu expressed her dismay at the situation, stating: “I’m heartbroken that things have to be this way.”
In a direct response to the claims, she emphasised that she has documentation proving that the allegations of non-payment were unfounded, asserting that all staff were paid on time, barring a minor delay in September.
“There’s literally one month where the staff was paid on the second day of the month,” she said, attributing it to a miscommunication due to banking differences that led employees to misinterpret payment delays.
Mthembu revealed that management met with the Department of Labour on Monday, December 2, for an audit and to address staff concerns.
She noted that the investigation affirmed that the restaurant had been overpaying the waitstaff, in particular, as well as the learnings and adjustments they have to make for their back-of-house support staff.
Altogether, they are liaising with the department to rectify and correct this moving forward.
“No one works overtime at the restaurant, and they are the ones who decided not to come to work,” she remarked, expressing her frustration over how the employees' actions have negatively impacted the business.
The matter escalated as Mthembu indicated that her lawyer is now involved, given that former employees have also lodged complaints with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
She said the employees were supposed to come for a hearing on Wednesday, December 4, but they were a no-show.
Wendy Alberts, chief executive of the Restaurant Association of South Africa, supported Mthembu’s position, identifying the TikTok post as potentially defamatory.
“If you have an issue such as this one, you need to go to the right authority and present your case. TikTok cannot be the platform for such serious matters,” she asserted, urging individuals to file complaints through proper channels to avoid undermining legitimate processes.