Tribunal win for Inverawe Smokehouse staff

All the workers who took their claims to tribunal level won each of their cases after Lorne Fisheries Limited failed to communicate with the court.

 

Despite the tribunal judgement ordering £71,131.97 in total be paid after "unauthorised deductions" were taken from their wages, one of the claimants told The Oban Times they still had to "actively turn up" at the smokehouse to get what they were due.

 

"Each unpaid member of staff still had to actively turn up at Inverawe and demand to be paid in person, otherwise we do not feel that we would have received anything," said one of the workers.

 

The Oban Times first reported on the staff’s desperate plight back in November when they told us they were "going through hell" because their wages had not been paid in months. Some were relying on foodbanks, living without light or heat at home, were behind with their rents and even visiting A&E because their health was suffering due to the financial stress and emotional strains put on them.

 

The Government-backed pension provider NEST had also sent out emails alerting them to missed PAYE and National Insurance contributions from their employer, and went on to refer the business to The Pensions Regulator because of it.

 

The Employment Tribunals (Scotland) judgement was made on December 16 using Rule 21 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013. Because Inverawe Smokehouse presented "no response" to the workers’ claims, the employment judge made the decision based only on the information that was available.

 

Smokehouse boss Patrick Campbell-Preston, who previously told us he was putting his ancestral home on the line to secure a bank loan to pay money he owed to workers and suppliers, told The Oban Times the matter of unpaid wages was now over and that he had also dealt with the issue of late PAYE and National Insurance payments.

 

However, Mr Campbell-Preston, who took over the running of the business from his parents, now faces the business being struck off The Companies Register by February because of overdue accounts.

 

On January 7, Companies House records were still showing online that Lorne Fisheries Limited’s accounts were overdue since October 31 last year and marked the company status as "Active - Active proposal to strike off."

 

But Mr Campbell-Preston said, after "having a word" with Companies House, the overdue accounts would be filed this week and the striking off action would "all disappear".

 

The Register of Companies gave first notice of a "compulsory strike off" proposal in official public record The Gazette on December 31. It said that unless cause was shown to the contrary, Lorne Fisheries Limited would be struck off and dissolved no later than two months from that date. If that happened, "all property and rights vested in, or held in trust for, the company" would belong to the Crown, it said.

 

Mr Campbell-Preston said 2024 had been "a challenging period" in the family-run business’s 50-year history but he was positive that 2025 was going to be "fantastic", getting off to a good start with being awarded the Royal Warrant again as a supplier to King Charles.

 

He went on to dismiss speculation of the smokehouse being sold. "I’m still here. Nothing has been sold," he said.

 

"All the staff have been paid. I’ve also dealt with the issue of late pensions payments and here we are, ready to go again," he added.

 

But workers who spoke to us said recovery in 2025 will not be so easy for them. "People are still financially on their backsides because of what’s happened and there is also the emotional toll that we paid. The impact of stresses and strains are ongoing," said one of them, who asked not to be named.

 

Another who spoke to The Oban Times anonymously said that although finally receiving wages should be a relief, the consequences of missed PAYE and NI contributions were still a worry and legal advice was being taken.

 

We also asked Mr Campbell-Preston to comment on complaints about no-show Christmas deliveries. Some disappointed customers contacted The Oban Times after giving up on efforts to get through to Inverawe Smokehouse in the hope of refunds.

 

In response, Mr Campbell-Preston said: "Christmas has been a busy period. We did have carrier issues. It does happen, but we are trying to work through those with our customers."

 

One woman who got in touch with The Oban Times spent £102 on a Christmas order that did eventually arrive after she posted her frustration on social media.

 

A smoked salmon delivery never arrived in time for another customer in England, who also contacted The Oban Times wondering if anyone else had been let down and left out of pocket.

 

Comments complaining on Inverawe Smokehouse’s own Facebook page included a suggestion from one unhappy customer that they should start up an action group to get refunds, if they did not get their money back.

 

Meanwhile another customer who got in touch with us was chasing a £165 refund for a pre-Christmas order that was not fulfilled. 

 

She told us: "We have called since, we have left messages and we’ve e-mailed, but we’ve had no response back at all. So for them to say they are working with their customers is a pile of rubbish."

 

And she added: "It’s disappointing for those of us who never got our orders but my heart really goes out to the people who work there who’ve had such a hard time waiting for their wages."