A failed Auckland restaurant owner has been issued with a major fine for employment infringements. The $95,000 fine following an employment dispute with a former chef several years after the restaurant closed.
The restauranteur in question, Shen Yuan, was sanctioned by the Employment Relations Authority for multiple breaches of minimum employment standards.
The business, BDIT Ltd, which owned Yuan’s two Auckland Hua restaurants, was liquidated in 2022 after his Newmarket restaurant ceased trading in October 2019, and his Albany store closed in September 2020.
The head labour inspectorate said the ruling showed even if a business had been liquidated, the owners could still be held accountable for breaches committed whilst it traded.
In a statement, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said business owners and employers who have exploited vulnerable workers cannot hide behind the fact that the businesses where breaches of minimum employment standards were committed no longer exist.
Yuan has been ordered to pay his former chef more than $40,000 in wage arrears and $21,00 as repayment for a premium he demanded. He was also ordered to pay $20,000 in penalties.
The chef would also receive $9000 of the penalties due by Yuan and his wife.
This is the second major fine that the Employment Relations Authority has sanctioned Yuan and his former restaurant business. In 2020, he was ordered to pay a head chef $11,999.98 for outstanding wages. This followed an agreement made the previous year to repay the former employee $16,000 in weekly instalments of $666. Only $4000 of this was ever paid.
The labour inspectorate said he would vigorously clamp down on those who exploit vulnerable workers, even if they no longer own the business where the exploitation took place.
Both Yuan and his wife were also ordered to pay interest on the arrears. Yuan was also ordered to pay interest on the premium repayment as well.
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