A Fife chef due £4,000 from a defunct Kirkcaldy hotel is urgently seeking a new job to help him support his wife, three children and sick baby.
Michael Cummins, 25, who worked at the Strathearn Hotel as head chef from December until it shut abruptly on Sunday May 17, was never paid a full wage.
Instead he was given “occasional handouts” by bosses Stephen Stewart and Tina Syme.
“I would get £70 some weeks and £100 others, sometimes in loose change.
“I had no choice but to accept the situation as I have a wife and four kids aged six, four, two and eight months to look after, and my baby son suffers from a bowel condition and needs weekly visits to the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh.”
Michael, who found out through social media the hotel had closed, tried to contact leaseholders Stephen and Tina several times to no avail.
“They didn’t have the courtesy to call me back I was left completely in the dark.
“Then they had the cheek to post on Facebook they had only closed for refurbishment which was a total lie.”
Michael eventually came face to face with his former bosses during a “showdown” at the hotel, attended also by hotel owners, Bruce Taverns and couples who had booked weddings there.
Some left with cash in hand while others were told there was no money left.
“I told them how angry I was but they just said they had no money left and I might get something but that all depended on whether they get another job or not,” he said.
When Stephen and Tina took over the hotel in April 2014 they inherited a team of 10 staff but over the course of a year that number dwindled to just four.
In March this year they posted a statement on Facebook saying it had been a “roller coaster experience” and claimed some former members of staff were trying to “tarnish” their reputation.
But Michael said they had no-one to blame but themselves.
“They tried to say it was the customers’ fault for not coming in anymore, then they blamed the staff then the hotel owners but ultimately the hotel’s demise was down to them and them alone.”
Michael’s wife, Sam, 23, who suffers from alopecia said: “Thanks to them, my husband is now out of a job and we are thousands of pounds out of pocket. The way he has been treated is disgusting.”
Anyone who can help Michael find employment is asked to email him at mcummins2989@googlemail.comA spokeswoman for owners Bruce Taverns said: “We have no comment to make as we only own the building, we did not run the business.”