Bay of Plenty kiwifruit picking business fined $30,000 for employment law breaches

A Bay of Plenty kiwifruit picking business was penalised for employment law breaches. Photo / File

A Bay of Plenty kiwifruit picking business has been ordered to pay more than $30,000 for "serious" breaches of employment law, which included underpaying staff and unlawfully deducting money from the wages of one worker.

Aulack Enterprises Limited and their sole director, Hardeep Singh, were found to be responsible for 12 identified breaches following an investigation by a labour inspector last year.

Aulack had previously been the subject of an improvement notice by an inspector in 2014.

The inspector understood more than 250 people had worked for Aulack in the 12 months previous to her inquiries, many of which were backpackers on working holiday visas and locals who were transient or casual.

The Employment Relations Authority said they were employees vulnerable to exploitation.

Among the breaches, Aulack was found to have failed to keep adequate wage and time records for six employees, failed to pay the adult minimum wage at all times to two workers and the company unlawfully deducted money from the wages of one worker.

The authority fined the company $10,000 for breaches of its statutory duties to keep proper pay records and produce those records when required, and a further $20,000 for breaches of statutory duties to pay wages and holiday pay in full when due.