The owner of a Japanese restaurant who breached employment law says he runs his business the way they are run in Japan.
Photo: Samurai Bowl / Facebook
Masakazu Takeuchiwho who runs the Samurai Bowl in Christchurch has been fined $70,000 for underpaying his 25 workers when it came to holiday pay.
He was also ordered to pay his employees the $24,000 they were owed.
The Labour Inspectorate said his punishment was designed to show employers they could not seek a competitive advantage by shirking their obligations.
Spokesperson Jeanie Borsboom said she was "glad to see these employees receive their arrears, particularly as they were vulnerable migrant workers".
As a result of the penalties, the restaurant owner was on a stand down list preventing him from sponsoring visas for migrant workers for 24 months.
