STAFF at a long-established bakery business in Okehampton say they are keeping the troubled business going despite being owed a month’s wages.

The entire workforce of Endacotts Bakery, around 30 people, were not paid their wages for the month of October.

They are now being paid small amounts of cash in hand weekly.

And bakers at the East Street premises say they only have enough flour to last until the end of this week, as suppliers have not been paid.

Staff report that problems started several months after the business was sold to a new owner at the start of this year.

Previous owners Michael and Ann Finucane retired in January and sold the business to The Oven Door Bakery, based at Long Sutton in Somerset, ending four generations of one family at the helm of the business.

Endacotts has two bakery shops in Okehampton and a factory which also supplies baked goods to businesses, including hotels, pubs, cafés and wholesalers, in the surrounding area.

‘It is six weeks now that we haven’t been paid and we haven’t had a payslip since May,‘ said Kevin Glover, who works in the bakery. ‘The company’s just been estimating our wages and for the past month, in October, none of us have been paid at all.

‘Some people have left because they were owed money, and they are still owed money.’

Mr Glover, 62, who has worked at the Okehampton premises for 47 years, added that the bakers were close to running out of ingredients

‘We have got enough flour to last maybe until the end of the week and a lot of ingredients we haven’t got because bills haven’t been paid, so were are in a sorry mess,’ he said. ‘At the end of the week we will probably just have to shut up shop.’

Another employee said: ‘The Oven Door Bakery took over in January and things started to go pear-shaped in April/May with pay. We weren’t issued with payslips and the correct wages weren’t paid. It was “guess the figure”. About half the workforce has been underpaid.

‘We were told the company was going to outsource paying wages and everything would be sorted by mid October, but mid October came and went,’ she added. ‘We have had nothing from the company to explain the situation. Then staff weren’t paid at all for October. They were owed on October 31, and we had no wages at all. It is about 30 people who are affected.

‘The suppliers haven’t been paid, so we have a lack of ingredients,’ she added. ‘We are trying to keep it going with what stock we have.’

Heather Kelly, whose partner works at Endacotts, said that he was owed between £1,800 and £2,000 in wages from the company, with arrears stretching back as far as last spring.

‘None of the staff were paid in October, so they have all lost their month’s pay,’ she said. ‘They are now getting cash in hand, being paid weekly,’ she said. ‘I think it is really sad, especially at this time of year. We have all got bills to pay and everybody is so stressed; they don’t know where they stand. They are living from day to day and it shouldn’t be like that in this day and age. Then they were advertising for drivers and I thought “you’re kidding me, you can’t pay the staff you’ve got”.’

Asked when the wages owing would be paid, Nicholas Gould, director of The Oven Door Bakery, issued a statement to the Times.

‘Endacotts has a long history and plays a very important role within its local community,’ he said. ‘This is very much recognised and acknowledged by all parties concerned. The owners are working to positively resolve any issues and seek to preserve employment and the business, where possible. 

‘There are a number of operational matters that need addressing in order for the company and its officers to deliver their statutory obligations and achieve the best possible outcome for the company. This process requires co-operation from those connected to the Okehampton site. 

‘Speculation, rumour and gossip undermines that process and creates additional barriers to progress. Such actions impact on staff, its suppliers and ultimately the company, as such conduct serves no positive benefit and frustrates any attempts to procced with a swift, positive resolution of matters.’