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The embattled Christchurch cafe owner at the center of dozens of allegations of harassment by former employees is temporarily leaving the company to assess his future.
Sam Crofskey, owner of C1 Espresso on High St, has faced a spate of complaints from former employees in recent days after student Levi Painter posted her cafeteria experiences online.
Former staff members have accused him of bullying, not allowing required breaks, asking inappropriate questions in interviews, and discouraging sick days.
ALDEN WILLIAMS / Stuff
Former C1 Espresso employees have filed countless complaints about owner Crofskey.
Crofskey has argued that the claims are mostly unfounded and said he is happy to address concerns through the “proper channels.”
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But on Sunday night he said he had “decided to take a long break to reflect on last week’s talks.”
Writing on C1’s Facebook page, Crofskey, who has owned the cafe for 17 years, said: “During this time, I will receive professional advice on workplace culture and assess my ability for the company.
“I have always valued our team and I want everyone who works with us to feel valued. This has been an immensely disturbing time for everyone.
“While I’m gone, the company will be run by my manager Dale. Dale has been with us for eight years and always does a great job.
“The past week has been a very challenging time for our 25 employees, some of whom have had to face very negative comments.
“Our staff will continue to do an excellent job delivering the coffee, food and service that C1 has become famous for and we are looking for ways to help them through this difficult time.”
THINGS
Former C1 Espresso employee Raya Sharples talks to Stuff about her time working for Sam Crofskey.
Crofskey is a past president of the Canterbury Restaurant Association and initiated the Christchurch Hospitality Awards. Last year he was inducted into the Restaurant Association hall of fame.
Before its announcement, unions and bullying advocates said they would seek legal avenues for C1 Espresso workers.
Painter’s discussion of his experience on an online student bulletin board on Wednesday attracted more than 1,000 comments and triggered the creation of the C1 boycott and the Facebook protest group was created, which now has more than 3,000 members.
One of its administrators, Ellsie Coles, is working with unions and other advocates to explore potential legal avenues.
STACY SQUIRES / THINGS / Things
Ellsie Coles, left, and Ailish Sullivan started Protest and Boycott Group C1 after widespread allegations of harassment at the cafe.
While he never worked in the cafe, he has worked in the hotel industry and knew about the allegations a long time ago.
Former C1 employees will meet with union organizers via Zoom on Monday to seek legal avenues.
Union representatives say there are several legal avenues current and former workers can take.
One is through personal complaint claims, which can result in individual payments.
Reasons for such complaints include wrongful termination, harassment, “unjustifiable action that harms the employee” and failure to act within the legal requirements for agreed-upon hours of work.
However, claims must be filed within 90 days from the date the action occurred.
Requesting an investigation from the Labor Inspectorate is another legal avenue, which could revolve around claims by staff that they only received 20-minute breaks for eight-hour shifts and were punished for taking sick leave by being removed from the list.
Violations can lead to large fines.
David white
Raise The Bar founder Chloe Ann-King says there are many legal avenues former employees can take.
A union activist also suggested asking the Ministry of Commerce, Innovation and Employment for company information on annual vacation payments to former employees to find discrepancies.
The former C1 staff will discuss options Monday with Chloe Ann-King, founder of the hospitality union and advocacy group Raise the Bar.
Maryline Suchley, Head of CultureSafe NZ Against Bullying in Christchurch, is also working with Coles to help past and current employees and believes that the Labor Inspectorate may find allegations difficult to ignore.
“I think this case is exceptional. I can’t understand how he managed to act like this for so long, although it may have to do with the age group he’s targeting, who often don’t know their rights, ”he said of the accusations against Crofskey.
