An exclusive nightclub frequented by high rollers is facing allegations of sexual assault, harassment and grooming, along with copious drug use, enabled by CCTV ‘blind spots’.
Level 6, located in Sydney’s CBD as part of the Ivy cluster of venues owned by billionaire Justin Hemmes and part of the giant Merivale group, was “a step away from a brothel”, an unnamed manager told Nine -newspapers.
Staff at the swanky venue, which costs $10,000 a year to enjoy as a member, have detailed allegations of sexual assault and pressure to please its largely wealthy male clientele.
In return, the handpicked crowd of glamorous young women, mostly between the ages of 18 and 21, who worked as “hosts” would take home Gucci handbags and up to $600 in tips for a few nights of work.
The club’s raunchy tone is set by the decor and furnishings with a photo of a half-naked woman in suspenders and ‘Dreamlover’ tattooed behind the bar, as well as a stripper pole.
Poker chips are decorated with a woman in red lingerie bending over.
An unnamed staff member told Nine Newspapers that staff were “expressly told” they could not refuse a guest who wanted to offer them a drink.
Another said that if senior Merivale staff were drunk and/or high in the venue, staff were “put under pressure” to drink with them, and it was “very difficult” to say no.
Level 6, an exclusive nightclub in Sydney’s CBD, faces allegations it turns a blind eye to sexual assault, harassment and drug use
One host claimed a senior employee threw her on the couch, reached up her skirt and grabbed her underwear.
She claimed another asked her, “Why haven’t we ever fucked?”
In another incident, a senior employee allegedly forced himself on her.
‘I was disgusted. I couldn’t believe it. This is my workplace and this is happening. You certainly didn’t feel like you could do anything about it,” the host said.
In a separate incident, another senior staff member is said to have forced herself against the host so hard that it hurt her.
It is also alleged that a senior employee took two women home and locked them in his home, pressuring them to take cocaine and trying to drag one into a bedroom.
When they tried to leave, he reportedly ran in front of their car, while the women eventually escaped when he passed out.
It was also claimed that a VIP guest pushed a staff member into the bathroom to do cocaine and ripped open her top.
When she raised the incident with management, she was told, “Don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s done, now move on.’
The venue, which has a terrace, costs $10,000 per year and caters mainly to a wealthy male clientele
Merivale told Nine newspapers it took the allegations very seriously but had no record of them.
James Henderson, who was a barman at Ivy and another Merivale business Bar Totti’s but resigned from the group in August, said what happened at the venues was ‘disgusting’.
‘It’s disgusting. They use women as objects.’
Mr Henderson, 21, claimed the venues ‘groomed’ female staff and customers for VIP entertainment.
An unnamed host told Nine newspapers it was not unusual to go into a room and see a senior staff member having sex with three girls on a sofa or in the shower.
They alleged that staff would sometimes position themselves to protect vulnerable young girls who were sometimes scouted and raised from other Ivy locations below.
Mr Henderson also claimed the company failed to protect him when he was attacked by a guest at work.
Ivy employees claimed the internal WhatsApp chat group had a code phrase ‘blue lights’ to warn of police
Staff said Level 6 was alerted when police went there so they had time to ‘hide things’
He also said a senior employee offered him cocaine and he witnessed open use of narcotics at Merivale’s Slip Inn bar without fear of repercussions.
If staff alerted police to abuses at Merivale properties, they would be fired, he claimed.
Another senior staff member said there were ‘blue lights’ and ‘code blue’ alerts via an internal WhatsApp chat or over the radio to alert Level 6 staff that police were about to visit ‘so that what happened was also going on… they could hide. It’.
The company said alerting staff to police was “standard industry practice”.
Mr Henderson produced an email detailing complaints of two sexual assaults to management.
Merivale rejected Henderson’s claims, describing him as “well known to the human resources department”
They said staff had undergone extensive and rigorous training, which resulted in incidents being reported to management and police.
Former employee James Henderson said he emailed Merivale management to complain about a lack of action following serious incidents
Staff also claimed there were large blind areas in the club where people could openly have sex or use drugs
In his statement to Nine, Merivale said it was has appointed leading human rights and discrimination lawyer Kate Eastman, SC to lead an investigation into allegations of misconduct at the company.
“If any of these allegations are at all true, we sincerely regret any distress caused,” Merivale said.
However, the company rejected claims that it had fostered a culture that exploited women and endangered its staff.
‘In all catering companies, including Merivale, incidents occur involving both customers and staff. That cannot be denied,” said a spokesperson.
‘However, Merivale will deal with complaints made about such incidents in accordance with its policies and procedures, as well as its legal obligations.’
Level 6 is part of the Ivy locations owned by hospitality billionaire Justin Hemmes as part of the giant Merivale group
SafeWork NSW is also investigating Merivale after the ABC published claims in September that it condoned drug use at its venues, failed to adequately respond to allegations of sexual assault and showed uncensored CCTV footage of people having sex at an awards ceremony.
Merivale said it had no record of the incidents and that the company was lawful in capturing CCTV footage.
Swillhouse, another major Sydney hospitality venue owner, is also under investigation and is also being investigated by SafeWork NSW after allegations were made of sexual assault, harassment and open drug use at the venues.
Company CEO Anton Forte stepped aside on Friday.
Merivale has been contacted for comment.