We can today reveal how 20 York bar staff were brutally sacked over a video call, leaving them in a state of shock.
As YorkMix first reported yesterday, the Turtle Bay bar in Little Stonegate shut suddenly on Tuesday – and by yesterday morning a removal team were stripping out its fittings.
Now members of staff have told us how they were only informed they had lost their jobs at the very moment the Caribbean-themed venue shut for good.
“The public saw signs go up on the doors, but for the staff the first indication that anything was wrong came out of nowhere,” one former member of the team told us.
“At exactly 12.15pm, we all received a sudden email telling us we had to join an urgent Microsoft Teams meeting at 1pm.”
The video meeting was hosted by by Gemma Wootton, the operations manager for Turtle Bay Restaurants.
“When we logged in less than an hour after receiving the invite, she dropped the bombshell that the York branch was closing down completely, effective immediately.
“There was absolutely no advance warning, no consultation period, and no prior notice given to the team.
“The shock was massive because we literally had the rota prepared and published for this week, next week and weekends.”
After the meeting, staff went down to the restaurant to try to come to terms with what had happened.
One member of the team told YorkMix: “It was an incredibly sad moment inside the building, looking at a venue we had worked so hard in for years suddenly stripped away.
“We stayed there together in the bar area for a while to comfort each other, share our shock, and process the news.
“It really did feel like a wake for a place we loved working in. It was a deeply emotional afternoon for everyone. Some ex-employees also visited at that time to comfort us.”
Unaware of the coming bombshell, one worker had taken a trip down south two days ago.
They had to cut their trip short and rush straight back to York yesterday after hearing the news.
“That is how disruptive and chaotic this has been for the staff,” an insider said.
Around 15 to 20 people were employed at the York branch, including the kitchen team, front of house and bar staff. All have lost their jobs.
One of those axed so abruptly told us: “Losing our jobs yesterday morning with just 45 minutes’ notice has left the team in an incredibly vulnerable position.
“For the people who do not have savings to fall back on, they are now left worrying about how they are even going to pay their rent next month.
“Because it is currently July, the vast majority of hospitality jobs in York are already occupied by full-time students home for the summer.
“It is an incredibly hard time for the staff to manage to find a sudden, alternative job right now.”
We have asked Turtle Bay for a response to the closure but have yet to hear back.
