Weinstein victims’ lawyer to take on Swillhouse, as hospitality giant deletes apology

One of the world’s top employment lawyers will represent former Swillhouse staff against the hospitality giant as four alleged victims of sexual assault pursue the company for damages.

Sheryn Omeri, KC, who has advised victims of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and won a landmark case defining Uber drivers as employees in Britain, will represent Rachelle Hair, Brittany Rowe, Jenna Hemsworth and Reuby Kahl in their claims against the company.

Barrister Sheryn Omeri, a KC in Australia and England, will represent the former Swillhouse employees.Credit: Steven Siewert

In August, The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food revealed claims that Swillhouse pushed staff out of the company after reporting sexual assaults, encouraged staff to have sex with customers, and discriminated against women as it built up a hospitality empire that now spans six venues across the city.

The company, which owns venues including Restaurant Hubert, Caterpillar Club and Le Foote, said it was aware of sexual assault allegations at its venues and that it “sincerely regretted and apologised to any former employees who felt unsupported and at risk”.

But Swillhouse has since deleted its apologies across social media, infuriating the alleged victims, who say the company fuelled a misogynistic culture that denigrated women.

Managers allegedly showed violent pornography to junior staff, joked about other managers being “touchy-feely” and plastered acronyms around the venue including STC, meaning “suck the c---”.

One former Hubert employee alleged she was raped in the restaurant toilets by a fellow staff member and was later forced out of the company after being denied extra hours and told her “general negativity within the workplace” was “not in line with our core values of ‘good times’ and ‘devoted hospitality’”.

Former Swillhouse staff Reuby Kahl, Brittany Rowe, Jenna Hemsworth and Rachelle Hair are pursuing the company for damages. Credit: Marija Ercegovac

Hair, who was the first woman employed as a bartender at Frankie’s Pizza and The Baxter Inn in the Sydney CBD, said the company failed to support her after she reported being sexually assaulted and pressured to take MDMA by a colleague at its Darlinghurst venue, Shady Pines.

“Taking down the apologies, the hushed removal of key staff members and the ‘rebranding’ of social media shows the exact intent of the company in this whole situation,” she said.

“Swillhouse’s inability to take this seriously is a huge underestimation and has led us to the only path we can take for some kind of justice.”

Rowe, who alleged she was brutally assaulted by a Hubert co-worker at home in 2021 and was then rostered on to keep working alongside him despite requesting not to, said Swillhouse directors had a favourite saying – “BAU” (business as usual).

“This seems to be their current strategy. BAU isn’t possible for me,” she said.

“Swillhouse can delete their apologies and pretend none of this happened, but I’m not afforded that privilege. I am burdened with PTSD and will be for the rest of my life,” Rowe said.

“There is no returning to normal when your life has been irreversibly altered by their negligence and disregard, which continues to prove true as they avoid coming to the table in any meaningful way.”

Swillhouse owner Anton Forte declined to comment on why his apology to former employees and alleged sexual victims had been removed from the company’s Instagram profile.

“The allegations against us are far-reaching. We’ve heard you, we are listening, and we are accountable,” he said in the now-deleted video from August.

“It’s heartbreaking to know that people were unsupported, unheard and let down.”

Marque Lawyers managing partner Michael Bradley said Swillhouse had not provided a substantive response to any of the allegations put by his clients.

“We don’t know what their attitude to the allegations is because they’ve refused to engage at all,” he said.

“We’ve given them chapter and verse on what our clients say happened to them. They are in a position to know whether they agree or disagree with that and to respond to it, and they’re choosing not to.”

A Swillhouse spokesperson said the claim that the company has been dismissive is “fundamentally incorrect”.

“Swillhouse takes all allegations seriously,” the spokesperson said. “Swillhouse has responded in a timely and appropriate manner with the lawyers representing four of its former employees. Should those lawyers not be satisfied with the responses provided, the appropriate forum is through the courts and not the media.”

The spokesperson said Swillhouse was fully co-operating with a SafeWork NSW investigation into its operations, triggered by the revelations in this masthead, and had implemented “several enhancements to its systems and processes to ensure a safer workplace” for its more than 300 employees.

Bradley said Omeri’s appointment showed how determined his clients were to pursue their claims.

“Their allegations are extremely serious and should be responded to accordingly,” he said.

Omeri, who is a king’s counsel on both the English and Australian Bars, declined to comment citing restrictions on barristers speaking to the media on current or potential proceedings.

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