Stickies Bar enters interim judicial management amid claims of unpaid wages

NIGHTLIFE operator Stickies Bar entered into interim judicial management on Wednesday (Jan 24), amid allegations of unpaid wages from current and former employees.

The Business Times understands that Stickies’ chief executive Norman Then has named Farooq Mann, founder and director of accounting firm Mann & Associates, as interim judicial manager.

Mann confirmed his appointment with BT. The firm, appointed on Wednesday (Jan 24), is now consolidating Stickies’ various liabilities.

A creditors’ meeting will be convened “in due course”, Mann said. That paves the way for the company to be placed under formal judicial management, if a majority – in number and value – of the creditors present and voting opt for it.

The proposed debt restructuring comes after many employees did not receive their wages for December, six current and former staff told BT.

As of Monday, 37 current and former employees had filed salary-related employment claims with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), spokespersons for TADM and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) told BT.

“TADM has concurrently referred the matter to MOM for investigations on possible breaches of the Employment Act,” they said.

“TADM and MOM have also been working closely to provide the affected employees with assistance, including helping them with their salary recovery and linking them up with the Employment and Employability Institute if they require employment facilitation,” they added.

Founded in 2017, Stickies had four outlets in Singapore until recently. Two – in THK Building in Aljunied, and at The Riverside Piazza in Clarke Quay – closed for good on Jan 15, notices at both outlets announced.

A third outlet in Clementi was shut during regular business hours when BT visited on Tuesday night. Only the Dhoby Ghaut outlet in Haw Par Glass Tower was open for business when BT visited it the same night.

Late salary payments

The salaries of full and part-time employees started to be delayed in January 2023, current and former staff told BT.

Going by the company’s HR policy, wages are supposed to be credited on the last day of the month for full-time employees, and on the seventh of the following month for part-timers, the current HR manager, who declined to be named, told BT.

“In the beginning (of 2023), it wasn’t that bad – I think in January and February, (the salary) came on time,” said university student Bryan Kuah, who was a part-timer at Stickies from July 2022 to December last year.

“The (delays) really came from around May to June (2023); it started to be a week late,” he added.

Despite the delays, employees have generally been paid for work done up to November. But salaries for December had allegedly not been credited to many of them.

This prompted current and past employees to file employment claims with TADM, and mediation is underway, BT understands.

Kuah, who did not file a TADM claim, said he is owed about S$900 in wages for work done in December.

Another part-time worker, who declined to be named, told BT that she filed a TADM claim for some S$1,500 in unpaid December wages. The HR manager estimates that she is owed some S$6,804 for December’s wages and encashed annual leave.

An outlet manager who left the company on Dec 23 last year made a TADM claim for S$3,799.99 for the previous month’s salary.

A former chef who oversaw kitchen operations across Stickies’ four outlets told BT that he is owed some S$22,000 for three months’ salary. He left the company on Jan 19. The three months’ salary includes unpaid December wages, and two months of compensation.

This is because his contract included a provision for the company to compensate him with two months’ salary in the event that his – or the kitchen team’s – salary was not paid on time, according to a copy of his confirmation letter seen by BT.

He said he had negotiated for this additional provision upon being hired, due in part to the company’s history of delayed payments.