Gail’s Denies Using CCTV to Spy on Workers

Bougie bakery chain Gail’s has denied using CCTV to spy on its workers, amid union-busting allegations.

In June, the general secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, Sarah Woolley, wrote to Gail’s HR regarding “serious instances of intimidation and trade union detriment” at the chain’s store in Bermondsey, south-east London.

Woolley said that Gail’s was “watching workers on CCTV in an attempt to find reasons to discipline workers,” and wrote to request clarity on the chain’s use of CCTV, saying: “CCTV is to keep workers in stores safe, not to be used to survey them and their behaviour. The timing of this threat is not a coincidence.”

In response, Gail’s HR wrote to Woolley that they “cannot accept your suggestion of intimidation or ‘trade union detriment’ which are denied absolutely and are frankly unhelpful”.

A Gail’s spokesperson told Novara Media: “Gail’s only uses CCTV from a safety and standards perspective.”

The denial comes against a backdrop of increasing tension at the bakery chain. Workers told Novara Media that the company’s rapid expansion has come off the back of exhausting work, a “stressful and alienating” company culture, and low-pay relative to the company’s huge profits.

In May, workers at the Bermondsey branch submitted a collective letter to senior management, detailing the understaffing, struggle to get full-time hours, and overwork issues in their store.

Senior management met with workers on 19 May to discuss the letter, and agreed to take steps to address workers’ complaints, with many of the concerns deemed by the company as an “easy fix”.

But following the meeting, workers said that conditions deteriorated further, with none of the adjustments to shift lengths or staffing levels that were promised arriving. Instead, they said that problems at the store only intensified.

On 20 May, workers were told that management planned to randomly review the store’s CCTV footage to monitor conduct, to monitor staff behaviour regarding phone use, eating, and break times. Workers said that CCTV surveillance was allegedly mentioned again on 29 May.

Two workers involved in the letter at the store reported that they had their hours cut after putting in the collective grievance. Lilas, the store’s head barista with responsibility for overseeing the quality of coffee service, wrote a resignation letter to Gail’s that said the reduction in hours down to ten-a week was “intentional punishment for putting forward a complaint about my working conditions”.

“This pattern of behaviour reflects a clear attempt at union busting by cultivating a culture of fear, isolating union members, and applying disproportionate pressure and surveillance,” the letter said.

‘Shine.’

While the circumstances of Lilas’ resignation shocked their colleagues, conditions for workers at Gail’s can be stressful at the best of times.

At one branch of Gail’s in London, Becky* is expected to “shine”. That’s not just corporate jargon for good customer service, but a mnemonic intended to remind workers how to behave: Smile, Help, I, Now, Exceed Expectations. Not that she’s got much time to think about her shine: with the till logging the speed of each transaction, she’s allocated just two minutes to take an order for, make, and serve a coffee.

At the end of each week, each store receives a “coffee efficiency” report from head office, with any store falling below 30% of transactions taking more than two minutes highlighted in red. “It’s really stressful and alienating,” said Becky. “The two-minute timer reminds me of testimonies from Amazon warehouses.”

The timer isn’t her only problem. Each customer needs to be greeted within five seconds of entering the store. Stock hospitality phrases of “Are you ready to order?” or “What can I get you?” are actively discouraged, with staff instead directed to strike up a personalised interaction with each customer.

“Shining” has to be done alongside taking and sending photos of the store’s baked goods to show they’re being well presented, wiping down tables, and restocking baked goods. “We’re expected to perform with the efficiency of robots and maintain the warmth of humans,” she said. “It’s exhausting.”

Then, in March, an email came through from senior management congratulating workers on an “incredible” financial year: “Our £5m week was an incredible ending to the year. What an achievement.”

A Gail’s team member can expect to earn four pence over minimum wage at £12.25, with team leaders on a starting salary of £13.30. Breaks are unpaid, and workers suspect that Gail’s decision to extend them from 20 to 30 minutes was a cost-cutting measure in response to the national minimum wage increase.

“The email was egregious – so tone deaf,” said Becky. “I don’t know why you’d boast to your underpaid, overworked staff about all the profit you’re making. I feel this way when management talks about the thousands of pounds of daily take too. Like, okay, cool – where’s our bonus?”

Becky wasn’t alone in her anger. Staff at other stores are exhausted. Workers say it’s routine for only two people to be scheduled on a closing shift, without enough time to tidy away the day’s oily crumbs and sticky floors, report on product wastage, and take out the bins. There’s no time to do a proper deep clean, so staff are either forced to rush, or stay behind unpaid after closing.

Despite always being short on staff, workers find getting their contracted hours is a struggle. Scheduling is chaotic, with shifts changed at the last minute, making picking up work in nearby stores difficult. When shifts are given out, they’re often only for six hours – the maximum you can work before you’re legally entitled to a break – leaving staff exhausted and making it hard to save money.

Workers see their problems stemming in part from the company’s rapid expansion, which has put a focus on opening new stores ahead of staffing needs.

‘Does it have a Gail’s?’

Created initially as a wholesale high-end bakery, the first Gail’s store opened in 2005 in Hampstead Heath, north London. Acquired in 2011 by Risk Capital Partners, headed up by retail entrepreneur Luke Johnson – investor in Pizza Express and Patisserie Valerie, until its spectacular collapse in 2019 – it was sold a decade later to US private equity giant Bain Capital.

It was this acquisition that supercharged the chain’s expansion. Its growth in affluent areas has been so rapid that the question “Does it have a Gail’s?” formed part of the Lib Dem 2024 election strategy to identify Tory constituencies the party hoped to gain.

When the bakery announced its plan to open in leafy Walthamstow, north-east London, last year, locals created a petition rejecting the store. While anger was mainly directed at protecting the high street from chains, locals also cited concern over Johnson’s views, who still holds a significant stake in the company.

A supporter of Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch, Johnson made his distaste for unions clear in a 2010 Financial Times op-ed: “In the global 21st-century economy, industry is simply too competitive for the destructive and unrealistic behaviour of the union dinosaurs.”

A Gail’s spokesperson said that Johnson is only a board member, and that his public comments were not on behalf of, and are not affiliated with the chain.

Last November, Johnson spoke at the Employment Rights bill committee, which heard evidence about the impact of Labour’s flagship workers’ rights bill. He warned that if the bill passed, some of his companies “might not survive next year.”

Johnson’s attitudes towards trade unions haven’t stopped his workers from trying to organise.

United by their poor workplace conditions and discontent, and with help from a collection of other trade unionists in the organising network Organise Now, Gail’s workers have set out to improve their lot.

Rather than relying on external organisers to reach out and recruit new members, it is Gail’s employees themselves who are reaching out and making contact. Staff have mapped out the ever-growing list of stores, with an approach based on worker-to-worker conversations. The exact set of skills required of them as baristas – being personable and juggling tasks – lend themselves well to organising.

Lilas may have quit, but that doesn’t mean the concerns they raised are being dealt with. Serving a customer this week, Becky noticed they were using a staff discount card. Stood behind the till, she used her shine, and asked: “Have you heard we’re unionising?”

A Gail’s spokesperson said the chain is “proud to be an inclusive and supportive place to work and has been recognised as one of the UK’s ‘Best Companies Top 25 employers’. Our employees make Gail’s what it is and we continually look at the ways in which we can support them, including listening to any concerns they may have and engaging in meaningful dialogue.

“Extending breaktimes was a direct result of feedback from our employees, and we have always paid above minimum wage, giving employees two weeks’ advance notice of their shift-rota in line with standard practice.

“We focus on great service and quality standards across all our bakeries, and like most in the hospitality industry we apply delivery targets to support this.”

*Some names have been changed to protect staff.