Restaurant owners who have been criticised for not paying staff on time have apologised and said they are doing everything they can to fix things.

After The Hengist in Aylesford closed last month, several employees have claimed they are owed thousands of pounds in wages, dating back to December.

But owners David House, who is battling cancer, and his wife Jessica have told KentOnline things are more complicated than they seem.

Damian Brookes’s son Daniel, 18, is waiting for around £850 in wages from the High Street site. He was planning on going travelling at the end of the month with the help of his earnings but may now have to cancel the trip.

Businessman Mr Brookes, who lives in the village, said: “It’s just shocking they can get away with this and treat their staff like that. This is my son’s first proper job and introduction to the working world and now he’s nervous about employers.

“In November he was paid 10 days late and then a week late in October. The only way he would get paid is if he threatened to not come in for his shifts. He was always chasing the money he was owed.

“Daniel was planning to go to New Zealand at the end of the month to travel and was planning on his December and January wages to pay for it, but might have to cancel now.”

Mark Tutte’s 17-year-old son also worked at the restaurant, where Ed Sheeran was pictured last year, and is owed £440 in wages. The frustrated father said: “They’ve always been extremely unreliable for paying wages on time so I’m not holding my breath.

“Some people left in August and have still haven’t been paid and were told to claim from the government.

“Since he first started at The Hengist not getting paid on time was just the norm. A few times I made him contact them to tell them he’s not going in till he gets paid. I’ve got a feeling we are never going to see any of this money and I wouldn’t be surprised if this happens to the other three pubs.”

One mum whose 17-year-old son worked there and didn’t want to be named, said: “The pay was never consistent or at the right time. I was chasing my son’s wages up until the middle of December.

“Around 20 staff have been made redundant and told to claim through the government’s website, but they can’t do that without a redundancy letter which nobody has.

“My son is owed £1,200 and he and others are still waiting on tips from over Christmas which were given by card payments. It’s a total shambles. The place was like a swan – it looked graceful on top but underneath it’s frantically paddling.”

Co-owner David House said: “We made the decision to shut the business in December and there are things we could’ve done differently.

“Everyone will get paid, they just have to go through the redundancy claims we’ve sent out. It’s obviously a really stressful time for our family.

“We’re doing everything we can to get people paid as quickly as possible.”

His wife Jessica said closing The Hengist was a hard decision for them, but the family didn’t want him to face another setback. Staff were called in for a meeting and told they would be paid between January 7 to January 14 – but this didn’t happen as a meeting with an insolvency practitioner hadn’t taken place.

Jessica added: “Where possible, we offered the staff positions in one of our three other establishments. So far, we have repositioned one as head chef of The Walnut Tree, we have four that have all gone into senior roles at The Amherst, and four that have gone into bar or kitchen positions at The Chequers.”

She explained how after meeting with the practitioner, they were told staff were classed as “creditors” because the business was insolvent and they weren’t legally able to make payments to them as it “could be seen as having preferential creditors”.

Staff were then told they would be able to claim wages, redundancy and holiday pay through the government website.

Jessica continued: “Upon receiving this information, we held a meeting with the staff and explained the new position. Understandably, they were frustrated that they weren't being paid on the dates we had told them, but we explained our situation and apologised for informing them incorrectly initially.

“There were a few members of staff that worked between The Hengist and The Chequers, who have now all been paid for the hours they worked at The Chequers, as the two businesses are run completely separately.

“Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the case number to be passed onto the staff. We have chased this a number of times as we understand the importance of our staff being able to claim as soon as possible.

“We received some negative comments on social media about not paying the staff and apparently letting them work over Christmas with no intention of paying them which really isn't the case.

“We recognise the incredible effort the staff put in over Christmas, sacrificing time with their family, and the effort they put in day after day throughout their employment. It was never our intention for them to go without pay and are doing the best we can to chase for the information they require to claim.”

The Hengist is one of four premises under the same ownership alongside The Walnut Tree in Yalding, The Amherst Inn in Sevenoaks, and The Chequers Inn – which is also in Aylesford.

Some staff at The Amherst Inn have also reported similar problems, with an online petition calling for the owners to pay staff wages.

One woman, who worked at the site in Sevenoaks Road, Seal Chart, but wanted to remain anonymous, claims she and another colleague are owed nearly £5,000.

She said: “We got our payslips but didn’t get paid. For two days we got ignored, and then we got an email saying we would be paid on Monday but this didn’t happen. Since then we have been ignored.

“We went down there to demand our money and the police were called. Still now I am fighting to get my money. I’ve had no money since the beginning of December.

“They should be forced to pay back our wages and with an extra 20% compensation.”