Hall of Fame Cafe Owner Accused of Intimidating Staff and Discouraging Sick Leave

Former employees of a well-known Christchurch café have accused their owner of bullying, not allowing required breaks, inappropriate questions in interviews and discouraging sick days.

The wave of allegations comes after student Levi Painter posted an account of her bad experience with C1 Espresso coffee shop owner Sam Crofskey on an online student bulletin board Wednesday.

A former employee said her time at the cafe was “the darkest two months of my life.”

Crofskey, who was inducted into the Restaurant Association’s hall of fame last year, denied the claims, saying it encouraged staff to take time off as needed and gave them options to take breaks.

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He said the bullying was a “serious charge” that was “impossible to defend”.

“The accusations suggest that I am a complete monster. Which is just untrue. “

Crofskey said the controversy had led to him receiving numerous threats, including death threats and threats to burn down his family’s home and cafe.

A former worker, Bonnie Houston-Edwards, claimed that staff were told there were “no excuses” for being sick.

“When we had the flu [we] they were made to come in and work, with a cough and a runny nose, everything. “

University of Otago public health professor Michael Baker said he was “stating the obvious” that discouraging sick leave was a public health risk.

Any barrier to sick leave, be it direct or more subtle, was dangerous, he said, even before the Covid era.

Share your work experiences at C1 Espresso Cafe – Email [email protected].

Unite Union National Secretary Gerard Hehir said that reports that employees were not allowed sick leave were not uncommon, particularly in the hospitality industry, and the Covid-19 crisis had exacerbated the situation.

“These people are preparing meals for customers … in the middle of a pandemic, it’s just a risk for the whole community, for the whole country.”

Painter applied for a job at the cafe and said Crofskey asked him if he had depression or anxiety, and told him he was only allowed a 20-minute break in an eight-hour shift.

When the job was re-advertised after she refused to sign the contract, she posted a warning to potential applicants.

His post sparked more than a thousand comments, many from former employees alleging a “bullying”, rude and condescending work culture at the cafe.

Labor attorney Susan Hornsby-Geluk said employers can only ask about mental or physical conditions that may hinder your ability to work, and that if what was alleged was correct, Crofskey’s position on breaks was illegal.

“Employers cannot ask specific questions such as whether an applicant has suffered from anxiety or depression,” he said.

“If they do so, they run the risk of suffering discrimination claims on the basis of disability.”

Current staff have also raised concerns, one of which says they’ve been trying to find a new job since starting a few months ago.

The woman, who declined to be identified, claimed that Crofskey would yell at staff in front of clients and asked about her mental health during the interview.

Three staff members had resigned in the past two weeks, he said.

Crofskey is a past president of the Canterbury Restaurant Association and initiated the Christchurch Hospitality Awards.

His High St cafe was one of the first businesses to reopen in the city’s CBD in 2012 after the Christchurch earthquakes.

Former employee Charlie Mcartney said she “left work crying multiple times” during the year she worked there, beginning in 2015.

He had tonsillitis once, but came the next day for “no [to] let anyone down, ”but told managers that he would need the next few days off to recover.

She claimed that Crofskey called her a “girl” for taking time off and making her feel like she did something wrong.

“The times I got sick after that, I never said anything and went to work out of extreme anxiety that he would bully me again.”

Mcartney claimed that he once asked her to pick up dog poop outside the cafe.

Once she did, he laughed and showed her and other employees CCTV footage that showed a man had defecated there the night before, she said.

Georgia Callow, who distanced herself from the threats against Crofskey, said she worked at C1 for about two years, starting at age 16 or 17.

He claims that every morning Crofskey would ask him to tell him and his family why he was “looking forward to the day.”

“One day I didn’t go straight to him because I was desperate to go to the bathroom and he yelled at me from across the cafe to stop disrespecting him and if I didn’t see him right away, I’d be in trouble.”

They sent her home, she said.

“I was crying weekly but I couldn’t allow myself to leave and I didn’t know this was not normal.”

He dubbed her “awkward” and started calling her “Crusty Georgia,” which hurt her confidence, she said.

“He always made me question my self-esteem and constantly told me that I was not good enough. No one defended anyone because everyone was afraid of being fired for saying something. “

Houston-Edwards, who worked there for four months in 2015, said staff were only allowed a 20-minute break for an eight-hour shift, he said.

“During my time here, several staff members left in tears and never came back. Staff turnover was so high that people started one day and left the next. It was weird, but you never questioned it. “

Crofskey said he wasn’t sure how to respond to allegations of discouraging friendships, but he encouraged and hired a diverse mix of ages and backgrounds on the team.

“It is not a gang by design. But there could be no active measure to discourage friendships. “

Regarding allegations of discouraging sick leave, Crofskey said he urged staff to take time off to “take care of themselves” and give as much advance notice as possible if they can’t make a shift.

There was a clause in the employment contract that allowed staff to work an eight-hour shift, without a half-hour break, or an 8-and-a-half hour shift with a half-hour break, he said.

“I want our team to do its job to the best of its ability and follow our standards and procedures.

“Today, the same people who are making these accusations at me are also threatening to set my house on fire while flooding social media with harmful and false accusations.”

He acknowledged that not all staff left on a good note, but said responding to details would violate his employment agreements.

Crofskey said the accusations were “very harsh on us” and risked “bringing down our family business at the risk of 25 full-time jobs.”

“Disgruntled employees can say whatever they want like a mob on social media and as an employer we are gagged and cannot respond without sounding defensive and therefore wrong.”

The minimum requirements for breaks are set out in the Labor Relations Act.

An eight-hour shift would require two 10-minute paid breaks and a half-hour unpaid meal break.

Staff choosing between an eight hour shift with no lunch break or an eight and a half hour shift with a lunch break is illegal.

Two years ago C1 changed their menu to post negative reviews left by people on Trip Advisor.

Crofskey said at the time that the move was to counter anonymous, thoughtless, and sometimes unfair online attacks.

He said his 30 employees worked full time and took their hospitality work very seriously.

His chefs work four 10-hour days, he said, and then had three days off, which is unheard of in hospitality.

“They are a team of professional staff who are really giving a lot. They don’t roll their eyes or laugh at our customers in the way these reviews suggest.

“It would be embarrassing for them to think that they are doing a bad job as a waitress.”

Additional reporting by Amber Allott and Martin van Beynen