B. T. the past few weeks been able to reveal the one critical working conditions after another in the biggest kaffekæde, Espresso House.
54 employees and former employees have drawn a picture of the Espresso House as a workplace where employees breaks together, and where employees are forced to work in spite of illness.
A workplace, where time and time again breaks the agreement with the 3F, by, for example, not to reward employees at staff meetings.
Now talking to the director of Espresso House, Claus Forester, finally, with the B. T.
What do you say to employees and former employees tell of so much pressure and so poor working conditions, to breaks, weeping together in the hours?
“I’m sorry to hear that there are some colleagues who have had it that way. We have an interest as a business to have some happy employees, because it is our employees and serving our guests.”
What do you say to that several of your employees have had anxiety attacks in the hours?
“I am sorry to hear that. We should not be a workplace where you get it. We live by having happy employees, which can serve our guests, so it makes me incredibly sad that we have not received the information, and that we have had dialogue with the person about how best to solve it here.”
What do you say to that, your employees will be urged not to go to the trade union by firing?
“I think it is a mistake, and that we should be more clear in the training of our leaders, so that they know the framework in which is – also about the trade union and 3F. I will definitely encourage our colleagues to talk with 3F in such a case, or in general, if they feel they need it.”
We have over 54 inquiries from employees and former employees. Has this case not such a large extent, that it was something I should have seen before we discovered it?
“It definitely sounds of many inquiries, and I also think that it is too many, and it gives rise to, that we need to have some internal discussions. We will be a good place to work.”
What have you concretely going to do about the problems?
“We must be clear that when one is sick, one is sick, and so one should not meet at work, and that when you are at work, you get wages. We must be clear about our training and the training of our leaders. We must speak with those colleagues who for one reason or another stops in our company, which has a lot of knowledge.”
You mention the word ‘error’ a few times. That is what you must take with you? It’s all a mistake?
“You should take with you, that we are working every day to have happy colleagues. It is up to them to serve our guests in the kaffebarerne, and if you are not happy with his work, then you have a harder time to do it.”
Have you failed?
“We have clearly not been good enough in our education and training of our leaders. We have not been clear in that when one is sick, one is sick. We have not been clear in that when one is at work, and you will get a salary.”
Is it a bug to not have Atlasbet been clear?
“In the good six months, I have been employed, I have experienced a strong commitment and happy colleagues. The experiences you talk about, I am sorry to hear about, and it makes me sad that we have had some colleagues who have had the experience.”
Is it an error from your side, that people have been exposed to it here? Yes or no?
“I think that we should have detected it and dealt with it, and it is a pity that we have not done it.”
So it is not a bug?
“I think we should have handled it better, as it occurred.”
So it is a bug?
“I don’t know how you will define the error. I think we have made some mistakes in the process here, and with a company like us, which I think we are going to make mistakes of one or the other kind in the future also.”
you have broken the agreement. Is it a bug, or is it not a mistake?
“We should not have breach of the agreement. We must train our leaders in that they understand exactly how the agreement is, and how to comply with it.”
What would you like to say to the 54 sources, of which we have spoken with?
“It is not the working environment that we want to be known for. It is not the work environment, which I experience with all of the hundreds of colleagues that I talk to, and I get sad when I hear that someone has had these experiences. It is not the way it should be.”
