Pizza Hut resolve Bournemouth dispute

The following is an agreed joint statement from Pizza Hut UK and Operation Black Vote.

Pizza Hut statement:

“Following a recent incident, we want to reiterate that we strongly oppose any form of stereotyping and we have reminded staff at all of our restaurants to use our standard policy of asking for payment after the meal.

With a diverse workforce and a customer base which spans all demographics we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and as such, we were pleased to meet today with Operation Black Vote, one of the UK’s leading organisations for the promotion of equality, and will maintain an open dialogue going forward.”

Operation Black Vote statement:

"Today Pizza Hut has recognised that the actions of one of its restaurants of asking some customers to pay before eating led staff to make judgments about customers. These judgments could be based on stereotypes. Pizza Hut bosses have reiterated that they do not accept any form of stereotyping within their business and have therefore ordered all restaurants not to undertake asking customers to pay before eating.

Pizza Hut has again apologised to the players for inadvertently causing them some distress and will make a contribution to a charity of the player’s choice."

Simon Woolley of Operation Black Vote stated:

"The football players can now find closure and get on with what they do best: playing good football. Pizza Hut have demonstrated that a good employer can deal with these problems with honesty and integrity. Moreover, they learn from their mistakes and come out even stronger."

For background on the above statement please follow this link.