Employment Relations Authority – Migrant exploitation – Arrears – Premium – Penalties

At issue was whether the Authority would order the employer to pay arrears to a migrant worker as well as penalties for breaches of minimum standards. 

The employee was chef at a restaurant. He travelled from China to Auckland to take up the position. The employer charged the employee a premium of $16,563 in exchange for the role. The employee usually worked 60 hours a week.  However, he was underpaid or not paid at all. After nineteen months the employee resigned due to the impact of being underpaid.  

The Labour Inspector investigated and found the employee had been underpaid $37,600 in wages (see para 25).  The Labour Inspector also found the employer had failed to keep proper records or pay annual leave or public holiday entitlements (see para 5). The Authority ordered the employer to pay the employee $65,503 in arrears including a refund of the illegal premium (see para 33).  

The Authority found the employer had “over a significant period deliberately and seriously exploited” the migrant employee (see para 41). The Authority noted that the procurement of a job “is not a commodity or product to be bought and sold on the market” (see para 55). The Authority ordered the employer company to pay $102,000 in penalties. It also ordered the sole director of the company to pay $51,000 in penalties as a person involved in the breaches (see para 66). 

Labour Inspector v Happytime BBQ Restaurant Ltd [2023] NZERA 20 [PDF, 370KB]