Claims soar to nearly four million krónur as former employees protest unpaid wages at Ítalía in Iceland

Claims related to unpaid wages at the restaurant Ítalía have reached nearly four million krónur, with additional cases being processed, according to the leader of Efling. Elvar Ingimarsson, the owner of Ítalía, stated in a press release that the restaurant owes approximately two million krónur in unpaid wages. Recently, former employees and Efling representatives staged a protest outside the restaurant to draw attention to the lack of promised wages.

Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, president of Efling, took to Facebook to contest Elvar’s claims regarding outstanding debts, labeling them as entirely false. Currently, 3.8 million krónur are with a lawyer seeking collection on behalf of individuals who have approached Efling due to wage theft by Elvar. Other cases are also being handled by Efling’s office. Due to Elvar’s practices of not recording employee hours, failing to provide employment contracts, and not distributing pay slips, it has become challenging for employees to gather documentation necessary for filing claims or transferring cases to legal counsel. It is evident that significant and burdensome fraud has occurred.

Sólveig Anna expressed disappointment that Elvar chose to share his business struggles with the media, suggesting that his intent appears to undermine the credibility of his employees rather than taking responsibility for compensating them for their work.