A chef has told the Workplace Relations Commission that she was sexually harassed by the owner of well-known Dublin restaurant Alfies and other chefs.
Among the allegations aired before the WRC this morning by former chef de partie Suzi Kelly de Lima Lino were that its owner, Niall McMahon, filmed her without her consent or knowledge for the restaurant's social media page.
Ms de Lima Lino said that Mr McMahon said the social media post of her cooking was a "success" because of her "sexy Brazilian bum".
She also told the hearing that because of her work permit arrangement, she felt "locked" into the workplace.
Ms de Lima Lino brought a complaint under the Employment Equality Act 1998 against Heat Restaurant Ltd, trading as Alfies at 10 South William Street, Dublin 2, alleging she was subjected to sexual harassment and racial discrimination because of her gender and Brazilian nationality.
The worker has also lodged a claim under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 against the restaurant operator, and further alleges breaches of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 and the Organisation of Working time Act 1997 by her former employer.
The evidence was heard in the absence of the restaurant owner, Mr McMahon, who the tribunal heard was out of the country after turning down a motion for adjournment by his solicitor, Sinéad Mitchell of Newman Doyle LLP.
In her evidence, Ms de Lima Lino said she was usually the only woman working in the kitchen at Alfies, with other women leaving after a short period.
The complainant said she started working there as a kitchen porter on a student visa in October 2019, when she was 29, before securing a work visa. Her employment ended in December 2021.
She said her employer was in the practice of making videos of the food and posting them to Instagram, but that on one occasion Mr McMahon recorded her at work without her knowledge and posted it to social media.
When she objected to this, Mr McMahon's reply was: "Why? It was a success," she told the tribunal, adding that the restaurateur added: "Your body’s a success".
"Did he regularly make videos of male chefs cooking?" her solicitor, Barry Crushell asked.
"Just me," Ms de Lima Lino said.
"Were there videos of male chefs cooking, taken from a similar angle?" Mr Crushell asked.
"I never saw," the complainant said.
Her evidence was that Mr McMahon told her the video was a "success" because of her "sexy Brazilian bum".
The complainant outlined further allegations of sexual harassment involving other members of staff, including on one occasion, a chef questioned why Ms de Lima Lino was wearing a face mask during the Covid-19 pandemic, remarking: "I want to see your lips. I want to kiss you," she said.
The further statutory complaints by Ms de Lima Limo allege she did not receive statutory shift breaks and that she is owed approximately a week's salary, €571.81, in unpaid overtime.
Mr Crushell said his client had initially been paid €12 per hour, but that this rate went up to €14.79 to match the work permit requirement of a minimum 39 hours per week at a salary of €30,000 a year.
"Thereafter, she would have to work additional hours for which she would not be paid in return for the company having made the application," he said.
Ms de Lima Lino said a typical working day was 10am to close, with last orders at 10pm and a half-hour after that needed to clean up.
The complainant said she would get an hour's break when the second shift came on, subject to cover being available in the kitchen - but that she would be rostered to work "half" days lasting six hours with no break.
"I was chef de partie with about three years’ experience - that [pay] was low, really low… He [Niall McMahon] told me once I was overpaid. That’s really unfair," she said.
"I wasn’t asking for a pay raise. I wasn’t asking anything special - just to be paid for the hours I was working for," she said.
Her evidence was that she was consistently paid a flat €501.92 per week, with no overtime despite working variable hours in excess of her contract, sometimes up to 52 hours in a week.
The adjudicating officer, Catherine Byrne, said the burden of proof fell to the employer in the unfair dismissal claim and deferred opening that element of the case.
After hearing Ms de Lima Lino’s direct evidence on the other statutory employment complaints, Ms Byrne adjourned those matters and asked the press to vacate the hearing room, indicating that she would hear aspects of the dispute falling under the Industrial Relations Act 1969 in private, as required by the law.
The next hearing date in the matter will be announced in due course by the WRC adjudication service.
