Restaurant ordered to repay underpaid migrant workers

A restaurant that was meant to help immigrants from Taiwan and China have been penalised by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) for underpaying workers.

Palace Restaurant Company, known as Maxine's Palace, has been ordered to pay more than $50,000, including over $40,000 of back-payments to two employees it underpaid.

Yi Tang Wang, known as Maxine Wang, was the sole director of the restaurant who told the ERA that she viewed her employees as family.

According to Wang, part of the reason she set up her business was to assist immigrants from Taiwan and China.

She said the business helped workers with their visa issues, paid for the personal insurance of some key employees, as well as provided affordable and sometimes cost-free accommodation in their homes.

Employees were also offered free mid-day and evening meals, according to Wang, adding that there were times the business was shuttered to accommodate workers' overseas travel plans.

Underpaid employees

But New Zealand's Labour Inspector received complaints from employees of the restaurant, alleging underpayments as well as not having their working hours properly recorded.

One of the complainants was Xiang Ru Lin, who arrived from Taiwan in October 2016 and worked for Wang in a part-time basis before eventually transitioning to full time in December 2016.

According to Lin, her hours were not recorded and was initially paid $599.98 for six days of work. She eventually left in October 2022 after getting an open work visa that allowed her to work for other employers.

Another complainant was Hai Rui Chen, who arrived from China in 2009 and worked for Wang as a full-time chef starting September 2015.

Chen alleged that he worked for 48 hours per week from Tuesday to Sunday and his work hours were not recorded. He was summarily dismissed in May 2022, with the chef claiming it was because he expressed concerns about payment for working on public holidays.

ERA decision

Wang accepted that she was a "person involved in a breach" and accepted that she and the business breached the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Holidays Act.

The ERA ruled that Wang's breaches resulted from "both wilful blindness and a failure to take due care to apprise herself of employer responsibilities."

"I assess this was a deliberate reluctance to address minimum standards matters brought to her attention in a timely fashion," ERA Member David Beck said in the ruling.

The ERA then ordered the business to pay a penalty of $12,000. It also ordered Wang to pay $4,000.

Both Lin and Chen would receive $4,000 each after the Crown receives the penalties, the ERA said.

It further ordered the business to pay Lin the amount of $23,876.62 in wages and holiday pay, and $16,506.50 to Chen for the same reasons.

The ERA also recommended that the business should ensure that its employment agreements are translated into the workers' first language.

It should also explain in "clear unambiguous language" the access to statutory leave entitlements in employment agreements for casual workers.