- Did YOU work at Missy Empire? Email arthur.parashar@mailonline.co.uk
The Missy Empire boss had an obsession with constructing a Kardashian-style empire and bullied his terrified employees at their run-down headquarters, a former worker has instructed MailOnline.
The Manchester-based quick vogue agency, which prides itself on ‘feminine empowerment’, has come underneath hearth after allegations had been made in regards to the ‘poisonous’ tradition and the behaviour of its managing director Ash Siddique.
Mr Siddique and his brother Ish co-founded the style agency that they are saying is ‘for the go-getters, the goal-setters, the kick-ass females who F with conference and create their very own form of fairly’.
But in actuality, the predominantly younger feminine workforce had been full of ‘on the spot nervousness’ after they needed to cope with Mr Siddique, who they are saying was a bully that thrived off instilling worry.
Mr Siddique, who is known to disclaim the claims, is accused of screaming at employees – together with one who he known as a ‘f***ing fool’ – until they ‘obeyed’ him and ‘made him really feel like essentially the most superb individual’.
One 19-year-old feminine employees member, who labored at Missy Empire from April to September final 12 months, instructed MailOnline: ‘He was very obsessive about the Kardashians. That was what Missy Empire was solely constructed on – the Kardashians.’
Pictures obtained by the Mail present how one of many partitions within the run-down pink workplace had a quote which learn: ‘What would Kim or Kylie do?’
Ash Siddique (left) and his brother Ish (proper) based Manchester quick vogue agency Missy Empire in 2015
Ash Siddique had an obsession with the Kardashians, former employees mentioned. This quote about Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner was within the workplace – and a construct up of mould might be seen above
Mr Siddique is accused of screaming at employees until they ‘obeyed’ him and ‘made him really feel like essentially the most superb individual’. Pictured is Charlotte Williams modelling for Missy Empire
The predominantly younger feminine workforce had been full of ‘on the spot nervousness’ after they needed to cope with Mr Siddique. Pictured is Lucie Peach modelling for Missy Empire
Above the quote, a big quantity of mould had constructed up, which the ex-employee – who wished to stay nameless – mentioned was making them sick.
She defined: ‘The workplace is simply stuffed with mould and we used to say about it on a regular basis as a result of we had been all getting actually sick – and we had been like, is it the mould? It’s bought no home windows. It was simply horrible, there was no air air flow in any respect.’
The former worker, who claims she was out of the blue fired after they discovered she had been going for different interviews, mentioned that Mr Siddique was a bully who thought he ‘was higher than everybody else’
She continued: ‘If you did not agree with that, then that is when he had an issue with you. If you obeyed him, he was completely positive with you.
‘But when you did not like him… otherwise you went towards his what he wished, that is when he did not such as you and he could be horrible to you.
‘Everything needed to be how he wished it. And when you did not obey him, then he did not such as you. You needed to make him really feel like he was essentially the most superb individual in any other case he did not prefer it.’
The ex-staff member additionally shockingly claimed that Mr Siddique’s brother, Ish, handled any emails despatched to the corporate’s HR electronic mail tackle.
‘Everyone knew that if one thing occurred there was nowhere to go as a result of Ish was really HR. If you emailed HR at Missy Empire, it was Ish,’ she mentioned.
‘So you could not say, “Oh I’ve just had an altercation with Ash” as a result of it could go straight to Ish.’
This image from the Missy Empire HQ reveals mould rising on the ceiling, which employees mentioned they complained about after getting sick
Women claimed they had been diminished to tears amid a poisonous atmosphere. Pictured: Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry sporting Missy Empire garments
Missy Empire say they’re ‘for the go-getters, the goal-setters, the kick-ass females who F with conference and create their very own form of fairly’
Seven members of employees additionally alleged they had been ‘fired with out motive’ and an additional two claimed they had been ‘unable to maintain copies of their employment contracts’. Pictured: Love Island star Laura Anderson sporting a Missy Empire costume
The Missy Empire XX model emblem stands for the feminine chromosome which the corporate say is ‘a subliminal reminder that we’re for the feminine and we’ll proceed to empower you by the facility of garments’.
But behind the facade of feminine empowerment, the previous employee revealed how their boss would ‘make your life hell’ when you handed in your discover.
She defined: ‘With one of many women, he simply utterly ignored her, he he did not converse to her in any respect. He simply reduce off communication.
‘Everything she did, he would have a problem with it. There was nothing that she might do proper, principally.
‘She left as a result of he swore at her in the workplace and known as her a f***ing fool, and screamed it so loud that we might all hear.’
The ex-Missy Empire employee additionally revealed how on a separate event he simply began ‘swearing and getting actually indignant’.
She defined: ‘I keep in mind at some point all of us simply went silent as a result of we might simply hear him screaming, and we had been like, who’s he screaming at? It was so unhealthy that we had been like, I hope it isn’t somebody in there.’
On the day she was fired, the ex employee says that she was known as round 10 instances by Ish however didn’t reply as a result of she was driving.
An ex-staff employee instructed how complaints to Missy Empire’s HR had been handled by Ish Siddique (left) so individuals had been scared to lift points about his brother Ash (proper)
When she bought house and replied she was instructed that they might talk about it on Monday, however no assembly ever occurred. That evening, she bought again into her automobile to go house and Ash instructed her over WhatsApp to not come again to work.
She additionally claims that when she was fired, she didn’t obtain her pay till she threatened a courtroom declare.
The employee additionally mentioned that influencers could be livid at not being paid on time – and plenty of needed to threaten courtroom motion to get their cash from Missy Empire.
Speaking about working at Missy Empire, she mentioned: ‘They form of promote you a dream when it is your interview and then if you get there everybody needs to simply get out.’
She continued: ‘It was simply all actually poisonous. But then, additionally, the best way Ash speaks to you prefer it’s simply so horrible such as you actually went in day by day considering what’s going to occur immediately.
‘When he would ring the telephone so that you can go into the workplace, you want to really feel like on the spot nervousness.’
She mentioned that though she didn’t witness it first hand, colleagues instructed her how Mr Siddique used to ‘price the ladies within the workplace out of 10’.
‘He’d touch upon fashions and he would say, “Oh this girl doesn’t sell because of this reason and that reason”.
‘He simply wished individuals with large boobs and an enormous bum and a small waist.’
It follows a Guardian investigation which discovered that feminine employees had been instructed to hitch OnlyFans – a platform to become profitable with pornographic movies – as an alternative of getting pay rises by Mr Siddique who diminished them to tears.
Chloe Ross seen leaving the Eve and Jess Gale Missy Empire in July 2021
Love Island star Kady McDermott and Samira Knighty at The Missy Empire Makeup Master Class at Roc and Rye in Manchester
Demi Sims seen leaving the Missy Empire social gathering in Manchester in July 2021
‘We had been simply having a dialog about pay rises and he [Ash Siddique] mentioned we must always all be doing OnlyFans as a facet hustle and he will probably be our agent,’ a employees member instructed the newspaper.
The employees allege that Mr Siddique ‘made degrading feedback about fashions’ physique form and bodily look’.
It’s additionally claimed employees had been ‘requested to mannequin garments for the managing director’.
Seven members of employees additionally alleged they had been ‘fired with out motive’ and an additional two claimed they had been ‘unable to maintain copies of their employment contracts’.
The Guardian experiences that the claims have been backed up by emails, screenshots and testimonies and that Mr Siddique didn’t reply to the allegations.
MailOnline has additionally contacted Missy Empire for remark.