Former Chesterfield Hotel company ordered to pay ex-staff members

When Chesterfield Hotel shut at the start of 2015, 20 workers took GS Trading VI (Chesterfield) Ltd to an employment tribunal.

Now, a newly-released document shows judge Christopher Camp has ruled that the controversial company must pay sums totalling £98,000 to the 20 ex-employees.

That covers deducted wages, protective awards, damages for contract breaches, compensation for accrued but untaken holidays and payments for failures to provide statements of employment particulars.

Judge Camp slammed GS Trading VI (Chesterfield) Ltd.

He said: "The respondent has not communicated with the tribunal, directly or indirectly, since the last hearing in September 2017.

"It is in breach of a number of tribunal orders.

"Its solicitors apparently told the claimants' representatives that they were coming off the record, but they have not done so.

"The tribunal has been writing both to its solicitors and directly to the respondent (to its registered office address and to an address in Southampton that is understood to be the centre of operations of its sole registered director, Daniel James O'Doherty) since February 2018.

"There is a sorry history, both in these proceedings and in previous proceedings, of excuse-making, broken promises, lack of communication, non-compliance with tribunal orders and non-payment of sums accepted to be owed, by the respondent."

The historic Chesterfield Hotel building on Malkin Street - which is currently owned by a different company - will go under the hammer in an online auction later this month.