Staff members of a fine-dining restaurant within one of Scotland’s most prestigious luxury hotels have said that they are prepared to take legal action unless they are offered a ‘fair and reasonable’ severance package. 

Our sister title The Herald previously reported that the flagship Tamburrini & Wishart restaurant at Cameron House on the banks of Loch Lomond had closed, leading to uncertainty surrounding the future employment of its 12 staff members. 

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter:

When approached for comment, a spokesperson for the hotel said that 'all required timelines and process for the closure had been followed’, and that all team members including Paul Tamburrini and Martin Wishart, were made aware of the potential closure ahead of any final decision and the outcome being announced. 

However, staff members have disputed these claims and instead say that they were given less than one month’s notice of the restaurant’s closure and had been placed on gardening leave. 

Yesterday, representatives from Unite the Union engaged in six hours of consultation meetings with hotel management, later describing the company’s proposal to pay the ‘bare minimum redundancy package demanded by law’ as a ‘complete slap in the face’. 

A Unite Hospitality spokesperson said: "After six hours of consultation meetings with senior management at Cameron House today, our members at their most prestigious restaurant have made it abundantly clear to the company that unless they get a fair and reasonable severance package, they will proceed to Tribunal for unfair dismissal by way of redundancy.   

“The company's current, and apparently final, proposal to pay the bare minimum redundancy package demanded by law, is a complete slap in the face for years of loyal service which has brought hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue into Cameron House.  

“The company has thus far refused to consider any reasonable alternatives to redundancy or indeed make any reasonable changes to the consultation process such as extending the time for consultation which the company appears hell-bent on concluding before October 31."   

On Sunday, restaurant manager Miroslava Senanova told the BBC: "We find it very unprofessional.

"If the hotel decides to close the restaurant, we can respect that decision.

"But it could have been made in a better way to help our team prepare for that.

"There were no negotiations, no meetings, just an announcement."

Head chef  Zach Brotherton added: "We closed were Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday as usual - but on Monday morning we've all had emails telling us we're on gardening leave and the restaurant was closed.

"It's quite obvious they had no real intention of keeping us on when they put us on gardening leave and kicked me out of my work emails and now none of us can access any of the systems."

In response, Cameron House said that IT access was suspended due to a confidentiality breach from a member of the team at Tamburrini & Wishart.

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter:

Tamburrini & Wishart was first opened in 2021, following extensive renovation work at the five-star resort after a fatal fire in 2017 which claimed the lives of two guests.

Upon announcing the new partnership, Cameron House noted the two chefs had enjoyed a long relationship, having worked together for more than 20 years at Michelin-star Restaurant Martin Wishart in Leith, and at The Honours in Edinburgh. 

Mr Tamburrini said: “We have collaborated successfully in the past and we’re confident this venture at Cameron House will be no different.

"We have the same vision on food and attention to detail, so it just works.”

A spokesperson for Cameron House today said: "The consultation process for Tamburrini & Wishart is not yet complete and therefore we have no further comment to make at this time”.