Not-so-lovely dealings see Rotorua's Lovely India restaurant fined $10k

Rotorua's Lovely India restaurant, on the corner of Tutanekai and Pukaki Sts left a sour taste in the mouth of Labour inspectors after the owners failed to provide employment records. Photo / File

Dealings with Lovely India restaurant owners turned ugly for Labour Inspectorate officials after they became belligerent in handing over employment records.

An investigation would soon discover why - there were no records.

The dispute over the request - for holiday and leave records - ended up before the Employment Relations Authority and saw the Rotorua restaurant fined $10,000 after it was found their record-keeping was negligible.

The ERA found company director Nilin Patel's co-operation with the Inspectorate's inquiry - which dragged on for a year - was "grudging and partial".

Labour Inspectorate national manager Stu Lumsden said Patel was unable to provide them with employment records within the time set by legislation, which hindered their investigation.

"Furthermore, Mr Patel put the onus of recording holiday and leave records for staff on a manager, and we later found that those records did not exist.

"The company, as the employing entity, is liable for the failure to meet minimum employment standards.

"The responsibility to ensure accurate employment records are kept lies solely with the employer, and where these aren't provided in a timely manner, the Inspectorate will seek penalties though the ERA," Lumsden said.

Instead Patel entered into mediation with the aim of discussing and agreeing on arrears that were owed to staff, in the absence of legally required physical records.

He then independently arranged settlements of wage arrears with his employees.

The ERA saw this as a less costly option for Patel, Lumsden said, and that he had shown "no real remorse" for breaching his employees' minimum employment rights.

"The ERA took these factors, and Mr Patel's treatment of the investigation into account when handing down penalties. His lengthy non-compliance meant the investigation spanned over 12 months.

"If employers are found to breach their employees' minimum rights, we expect them to co-operate and comply with our investigations, and where this isn't being done, they can expect to face further penalties and costs in the ERA," he said.