An Indian restaurant owner in Auckland was ordered to pay $400,000 for exploiting workers and forcing them to work 90 hours a week.

An Indian restaurant in Auckland and its former owner have been ordered to pay nearly $400,000 after authorities discovered systematic exploitation of migrant workers, including forcing employees to work up to 90 hours a week while being paid for only a fraction of that time.The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ruled that Indian Taste Ltd and its former director, Krishna Khandelwal, committed numerous serious breaches of New Zealand employment law, the NZ Herald reported.Under the decision, the restaurant must repay nearly $200,000 in unpaid wages to seven affected workers. Khandelwal was also fined $177,300 for his role in the violations, while an additional $35,000 in compensation will be shared equally among employees.The case comes after an investigation was launched with several complaints received between March and December 2024. The nine-month investigation found that workers were regularly required to work between 60 and 90 hours each week but were only paid for around 30 hours.Some employees were also forced to work for a week or two without pay when they first joined the company.Sam Mills, director of migrant exploitation at the Labor Inspectorate, said the workers affected were vulnerable and exploited because many had limited English skills and little understanding of New Zealand’s labor laws.

“The workers were mercilessly exploited for the personal gain of the company and its owner,” Mills said.“These violations were persistent, intentional, and designed to extract labor at an illegal discount.”A wide range of labor law violations were found, including non-payment of the minimum wage, illegal wage deductions, failure to provide annual leave and alternative leave benefits, charging insurance premiums to workers to secure jobs, and failing to keep accurate records of wages and leave.ERA member Matthew Piper said Khandelwal was in charge of the company and personally benefited from paying workers less than they were entitled to.“As a shareholder of The Indian Taste, Mr. Khandelwal obtained financial benefit for his actions by underpaying workers, thereby also failing to compete fairly with other companies offering similar products that complied with the law,” Piper said.The ERA found that the impact on workers went far beyond unpaid wages. Some have been forced to take out personal loans and borrow money at high interest rates, while struggling to support their family members abroad.Mills said the punishment should serve as a warning to employers who seek to exploit vulnerable workers.