Employer banned from employing staff…

An employer and the director of the employing company have both been banned for 18 months from employing staff after the Employment Court found them guilty of exploiting workers by not paying wages.

In addition to the banning order the company was fined $300,000 and the director $150,000 personally for her actions.

In addition the company is liable for $230,000 in unpaid wages.

The employer which runs a camping ground used employees from China who were working illegally on visitor visas.  It failed to pay any wages for the work done.  The employer claimed that none of the workers were employees and that they were merely undertaking tasks to keep them from getting bored while they waited for their working visas to come through.  The Employment Court did not believe the employer and found that text messages clearly showed that each of the workers was working full time at the holiday park.

The Court has warned any employers that seek to exploit workers by non-payment of wages and other entitlements can expect penalties far larger than anything they might save by their underhand conduct.





Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer
Wellington