"Underpaid migrant wins $34k after feeling like 'prisoner' at Otago hotel pub,"

The woman, who wanted to stay anonymous, said she worked 50 to 60 hours weekly, six days a week, but was only paid for 30.

"I have never seen a jail, but I felt I was a prisoner. I was sorry I had ever come to New Zealand. It was a very emotional time and I just wanted to leave," she said.

employed at Criterion Club Hotel in Manuherikia/Alexandra between June 2019 and February 2020.

The venue is a bar, restaurant, and hotel with gambling and TAB facilities...

After nine months there, the woman resigned and asked for her final holiday pay, but her employers refused. They kept making excuses, so she went to the Labour Inspectorate for help.

The Inspectorate used external EFTPOS data, plus pokie machine and TAB terminal data, to find that the business 4S Hospitality had under-recorded the woman's hours - meaning she was substantially underpaid.

The case was deemed a "serious breach" and passed onto the ERA (Employment Relations Authority)...

As a result, 4S Hospitality was fined $24,000.

Kuljinder Singh Sidhu, who hired the woman and helped run the business, was also fined $12,000.

The ERA found although he didn't own the business, he knew hours worked and holiday pay weren't being properly recorded.

The woman was awarded $34,270 in unpaid wages plus interest...