Outrage has erupted over a over a racist memo berating staff at restaurant chain Ribs & Burgers for speaking languages other than English and threatening disciplinary action.
A senior New South Wales company representative sent the message to managers in a discussion group in November after receiving numerous reports of staff speaking their native tongues in stores across the state.
‘Once again I have the unfortunate task of raising this issue with everyone in NSW,’ the memo begins, SBS Arabic 24 reports.
‘I have received four reports of late of people talking in languages other than English. This is being done when there are other people around who cannot understand them.
Restaurant chain Ribs & Burgers (pictured) has sparked outrage over a ‘racist’ memo berating staff for speaking languages other than English
‘This is disgusting, disrespectful and speaks completely against our Seagrass culture of #togetherness. Be warned: Native language speaking will not be tolerated anymore.’
The fast food chain, which is operated by South African-owned Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group, boasts 17 branches across Australia, including 12 in New South Wales.
Managers were instructed to ‘stamp this out of their businesses’ and to ‘treat occurrences of this with immediate disciplinary action’.
The memo (pictured), sent by a senior NSW company representative, instructed managers to ‘stamp out’ the ‘disgusting’ behaviour
A veteran Ribs & Burgers employee told SBS staff were from diverse backgrounds and found the memo shocking.
‘How does banning staff from speaking their native languages with each other fit in with the culture of #togetherness,’ he asked.
He added that while workers may speak to one another in their native languages, customers were always spoken to in English.
‘We thought the memo was weird but there’s nothing we could do about it for fear of repercussions,’ he said.
Angry customers have since flocked to Ribs & Burger’s Facebook page to accuse the restaurant of racism.
One customer said: ‘This type of discrimination is extremely dangerous and shows a lack of respect for multicultural Australia.’
‘Oh my God, I’m not familiar with this chain but I’m appalled,’ wrote another.
A spokesperson from Seagrass said the memo was being investigated.
‘While we are investigating this as a matter of urgency, we can immediately confirm that this communication does not in any way reflect our culture or our equitable employment policies and practices,’ they said.
A spokesperson from the chain’s parent company Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group said the memo was under investigation
Angry customers flocked to Ribs & Burgers social media pages to accuse the company of racism
‘We are very proud of our company culture and in particular our multicultural, diverse and inclusive workplace.’
Unlawful work discrimination occurs when an employer ‘takes adverse action’ against an employee based on social criteria such as race, colour, national extraction, religion, or social origin, according to Fair Work Australia.
While the memo does not detail what ‘disciplinary action’ would be taken, ‘adverse action’ is defined by Fair Work as dismissing an employee and discriminating between one employee and other employees, among others.
It is not the first time the company has landed in hot water over allegations of racism.
In 2018, Ribs & Burgers launched an advertising campaign for wagyu burgers that featured geishas and samurai swords.
The commercial was blasted for ‘stereotyping’ and using ‘yellowface’ for laughs.
The fast food company was slammed for racial ‘stereotyping in 2018 over a wagyu burger advertisement (pictured)
A Seagrass spokesperson addressed the complaints in a statement online, apologising for any offense caused and claiming the advert was meant in ‘tongue and cheek’.
‘We appreciate your feedback and are truly sorry you find this offensive,’ they wrote.
‘This was never our intention and this advertisement is a tongue in cheek representation of the “Wagyu beef range at ribs and burgers” and not a representation in the slightest of Japanese culture.
‘The main actor is Japanese, and himself and others of Japanese descent were consulted vigorously before the production of this advertisement and did not believe it was racist at all.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Seagrass for comment.