'I haven't had a penny of £35k compensation from bar that sacked me'
Family photographA mum awarded more than £35,000 in compensation after being sacked from a bar claims she has "not received a penny" almost six months after her "David vs. Goliath" tribunal ruling.
Ana Machado, who is originally from Brazil and now living in Liverpool, was fired from Liverpool's Coyote Ugly Saloon on 31 December on 2022.
She represented herself in an employment tribunal which, in October 2025, found her dismissal was related to her nationality and was "an act of harassment" but Machado said she was yet to receive any money from Swansea Audio Ltd, the firm which previously ran Coyote Ugly Saloon.
The BBC approached Swansea Audio Ltd for comment but did not receive a response to these specific claims, though director Steve Lewis did confirm that he incorporated a new firm, Coyote Ugly Liverpool Ltd, before the tribunal took place.
Machado had worked at the country and western bar for a year - her first job since starting a new life in the UK - when she thought she was called into the office for "something nice".
She said she was left shocked and shaking then suffered a panic attack when she was fired after being confronted over the handling of money and claimed she was told she was more likely to steal as she was sending money to her family in Brazil.
"Never in a million years was I expecting that," she said.
The 31-year-old single parent said it had a big impact on her mental health and sleepless nights.
"I had to go to the doctors to ask for sleeping pills and also anxiety pills," she said.
Losing her job so soon after Christmas left her "skint" and having to go to food banks to eat and needing help to pay her gas.
It also left her scared she would not find work anywhere else.
She did go on to find work again, though, at Hooters restaurant in Liverpool but it closed in January.
'It feels so unfair'
Machado said she was determined to clear her name and represented herself at the employment tribunal.
Although she felt like it was a "David vs. Goliath" at the hearing, she said she felt vindicated when the panel ruled in her favour.
However, she said it now felt "only a half win" as the company had not paid her anything as yet.
"I lost so much of my life," she said.
"It's disgusting," she said, adding it "feels personal".
"I feel like they spent loads of money paying solicitors to fight me, which actually would cost way more than just paying me instead.
"It makes me feel like any big company can do whatever they want with people."
She fears she will not be paid as Companies House filings dated up to 30 June 2025 show Swansea Audio Ltd were £888,000 in the red.
Machado said, meanwhile, the director Steve Lewis had opened a new firm, Coyote Ugly Liverpool Ltd, in May 2024.
She added: "It feels so unfair."
Steve Lewis said in a comment to the BBC: "The decision to transition the Liverpool operation into a new entity was taken over a year prior to the employment tribunal hearing and was entirely unrelated to the case referenced.
"All employees at the time were transferred under the TUPE Regulations to Coyote Ugly Liverpool Limited."
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