A popular Cornwall pub and restaurant with a chequered business history has been accused of failing to pay teenage staff, with parents saying they have been left chasing hundreds of pounds in unpaid wages.
Young former workers at The Unicorn on the Beach in Porthtowan say they have repeatedly tried to contact those responsible for their wages but have had no answers.
The pub on Beach Road is a Star Pubs & Bars venue, the pub arm of Heineken, but has been operated by other businesses and individuals under lease arrangements since an extensive refurbishment in 2019.
Several former employees and their parents have come forward to describe recent experiences, including delayed or missing wages, a lack of payslips and contracts, and concerns over hours worked by under-16s.
Companies House records show the business behind The Unicorn on the Beach was originally incorporated as The Unicorn on the Beach Ltd on July 26, 2019. It changed its name to Outpost Lounge Ltd in May 2022 and was dissolved in June 2025. The company was registered as a public house and bar business. Both companies were associated with Taskin Muzaffer and Timothy Moore, who were also linked to the Godolphin hotel in Marazion before St Austell Brewery took over following a tumultuous period.
Concerns over unpaid wages at the Godolphin were raised publicly through CornwallLive by former employees in 2024. Mr Muzaffer defended the management at the time, citing difficult trading conditions, rising costs and a slow start to the Cornish summer season, and said complaints had come from “a few disgruntled ex-staff”.
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Later it became public via CornwallLive that Mr Muzaffer was disqualified from formally directing a business due to a £100,000 loan fraud. Now similar allegations regarding pay have emerged from another business associated with him as former workers at The Unicorn and their concerned parents come forward.
Karin Taylor, from St Agnes, said her 14-year-old son took a job at the pub during the summer holidays but was paid just £50 despite working numerous shifts. She said he initially worked a couple of shifts in July and did not receive any money.
“I thought they would carry it over to August,” she said. “He worked the whole of August and got nothing at the end of the month.”
Her son continued taking shifts because he wanted to earn money during his school holidays, but
Cornish Pub Accused of Not Paying Teen Staff