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An esthetician who once worked at a Kelowna dental clinic is claiming she went months without pay, is now taking her former employer to court.

Jamie Gemmell claims she agreed to work part-time for $5,000 per month at Kettle Valley Family Dental in August 2021, but says she was only paid three times while she worked there for more than a year, according to a notice of claim filed in BC Supreme Court.

Gemmell was hired for esthetic technician and consulting services, according to the claim, but she was never added to the company payroll and went more than a year before receiving her second cheque.

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She named both the clinic and its owner, Dr. Cory Brown, as defendants in the lawsuit.

She said in March 2022, Brown suggested she put "skin in the game" for the company by buying a skincare device, prompted by her repeated requests to be paid, according to the claim.

By that time, Gemmell said she was only paid once with an initial $5,000 cheque. Despite that, she agreed to use $58,800 of both her unpaid and future income from the clinic in exchange for partial ownership of the micro-needling device, according to the claim.

The office needed to replace its micro-needling device, and she worked for the company that sold the machine.

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Gemmell said she was promised 47% ownership in the machine and the profits gained from it, but she was never paid the commission nor a portion of the proceeds when Brown later sold it without her knowledge, according to the claim.

She quit in June 2023 after a "steady breakdown" in their relationship. By the time she left, she was paid an additional $2,883 in two separate payments after the initial $5,000 payment.

Gemmell is looking to the court as she seeks her unpaid income from the dental clinic and damages for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal.

None of her claims have been proven in court. Brown did not respond to a request for comment from iNFOnews.ca nor has he responded in court.

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