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10.02.2026 / News / Draughts Bar

Draughts Games bar Kitchen Worker Dismissed After Strike Ballot Notice Takes Case to Tribunal

“I had so many plans for my life when I was working at Draughts, and my dismissal has been devastating.”

Awed, dismissed kitchen workers and UVW member

A migrant kitchen worker at the trendy London board-game bar Draughts will face his employer at an employment tribunal this week after being summarily dismissed shortly after a union strike ballot was announced.

Last summer, workers at Draughts organised with United Voices of the World union (UVW) over insecure work and worsening conditions. When UVW formally notified the company of a strike ballot, one worker — employed at the Stratford branch on a zero-hour contract — was dismissed the very next day.

The company claimed there was a “reduced need for staffing hours”. However, the timing and circumstances have raised serious concerns that the dismissal was linked to trade union activity. Despite being on a zero-hour contract, the worker, a UVW member, was dismissed outright rather than simply not offered shifts — a move that has prompted wider concern about the use of dismissal as a punitive tool in the hospitality sector.

The worker, a migrant from Sudan with a previously unblemished record, received no warning, consultation, or due process before losing his job.

“I wanted to bring my family here to escape war in Sudan and that may no longer be possible as things stand”, Awed told us. “I feel I was dismissed through no fault of my own — I haven’t done anything wrong — and it happened just as I joined the union. I am happy to be a member of UVW because it’s supporting me through this difficult situation.”

UVW believes the case raises serious questions about how migrant and precariously employed workers are treated when they organise for better conditions. We argue that dismissing a worker immediately after a lawful strike ballot notice risks undermining the fundamental right to organise collectively without fear of retaliation.

The tribunal, taking place on 12–13 February, will examine whether the dismissal amounted to unlawful trade union victimisation. The worker is being represented by the Free Representation Unit, on behalf of UVW.

This case comes in the context of a campaign at Draughts last summer, when workers across the company took strike action over issues including zero-hour contracts, unpredictable rotas, QR-code tipping, and inadequate workplace security.

Draughts, which operates venues in Stratford and Waterloo, had not previously faced coordinated industrial action from its workforce.

Stand with the Worker. Defend the Right to Organise.

No worker should face losing their livelihood for standing up with their colleagues. This case matters not just for one kitchen worker, but for everyone organising in insecure and migrant-heavy sectors.

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Stand with UVW members as they defend the right to organise without fear >>

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