Bizarre: Labour inspectorate finds mattress in restaurant and suspects chain of exploitation
You expect to find all sorts of things in a restaurant, but not a mattress. Yet that’s exactly what happened to the Labour Inspectorate during an inspection of the Indian restaurant chain Saravanaa Bhavan. And no, it wasn’t a mattress for taking short power naps. It turned out that an employee was actually staying there.
The mattress was found at a branch in The Hague. Alarm bells immediately started ringing at the Labour Inspectorate, because this could well be a sign that the employees were being exploited. Inspectors therefore decided to launch an investigation into the situation. That investigation has yet to take place, but things are not looking good for the Indian restaurant.
Illegal employment
What makes matters even worse is that the inspection also found around five employees who were not authorised to work in the Netherlands. They were found at the branches in The Hague, Amsterdam and Almere. In Amsterdam, for example, two employees were working in the restaurant without a work permit having been applied for. Illegal employment, in other words. These employees were probably also being paid too little and made to work far too many hours. Sad.
Known to the inspectorate
This isn’t the first time Saravanaa Bhavan has been viewed in a bad light by the Labour Inspectorate. Back in 2019, the inspectorate found violations of the Aliens Employment Act at the chain. That was precisely the reason they decided to check again. And not only at the restaurants here in the Netherlands. The inspectorate also visited branches in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Belgium and France. Because, well, if there is potential exploitation at one branch, why wouldn’t there be at others?
Major red flag
Saravanaa Bhavan can certainly expect a hefty fine. And a friendly request to remove that mattress from the restaurant. If you ever see hospitality workers dragging a mattress around or showing up at your table in pyjamas, you’ll know that it’s a major red flag.
Also read:
- 6 super tips for making an Indian dish sometime
- The three basic sauces of Indian cuisine
- Everything about Indian breads
Source: Misset Horeca & Omroepwest.nl
