A STRIP club involved in an employment dispute with some of its dancers has blamed the banks for withholding payments owed to them.

Performers at SophistiCats in Brewer Street, Soho, say they are waiting for thousands of pounds in earnings. But the club said around £5,000 owed to performers is currently being held up by the banks.

Customers often challenge transactions made the night before leading to a freeze on them being authorised.

The company has denied allegations made by the United Voices of the World (UVW) union, about mistreatment of the performers, which has threatened the club with legal action. The club said that the payments problem was “out of its control”.

A spokesperson for the club said: “The United Voices of the World is aware that the funds withheld from the performers are due to an ongoing issue with credit card companies concerning charge-backs. This situation is beyond our control, as we function as an intermediary between the payments made by customers and the credit companies for the services provided by the performers.”

A SophistiCats director explained the system of “charge-backs” as the freezing of a transaction on a customer’s card by their bank. He said this is a common occurrence and happens when customers challenge purchases.

The director said that the funds are paid out to the performers after six months regardless of whether the transaction is unfrozen or refunded to the customer by the bank. He said this regularly occurs with international customers.

UVW claims the company have used the performers’ work status to circumvent paying them what they are owed or offering benefits. This the company denies.

UVW say that when a customer pays with a card, the club takes 40 per cent of the dancer’s earnings.

Describing the impact of the freeze, one dancer said: “One day went by, then weeks, and then another week, and nothing.

“My manager came up with excuse after excuse. She kept telling me ‘tomorrow we will transfer the money’ and no money ever came.

“I even showed her the messages from my landlord and still nothing. I had to ask my friends to pay the rent for me.

“Then, once the letter was sent from the union, me and other girls were not given any more shifts.”

The legal claim UVW is considering is to reclassify dancers from independent contractor to a “limb (b) worker” a type of employment status that could lead to protection and benefits like sick pay and annual leave.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the case is before the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service and is in its early stages.

A SophistiCats statement said they strongly denied any allegations of mistreatment of performers, and added: “We are deeply committed to their welfare and have consistently advocated for their rights to work. In support of this commitment we provide various facilities to our performers, including access to mental health counsellors, accountants, and immigration advice.

“We wish all our performers the best and feel very sad that a few feel this way and all monies owed will be paid as and when received.”