Auckland valet fined $241,000

A South Auckland auto valet has been ordered to pay $241,451.66 in penalties and arrears by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), after an investigation found employment law had been seriously breached. “For six years or more Manukau Auto Valet Limited deprived some 221 employees of their most basic employment entitlements, failing to pay at least a minimum wage, or holiday pay to employees leaving the company,” says Labour Inspectorate regional manager Loua Ward. The valet company has paid $96,451 in arrears to MBIE for the 221 affected employees, and has been ordered to pay a further $145,000 in penalties after the Inspectorate took the vase to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA). A complaint was first laid on September 2015, and the Inspectorate lodged the first statement of problem 12 months later. Manukau Auto Valet Limited director and major shareholder Dharmesh Kumar pleaded ignorance during the hearing, but the ERA decided this was not a mitigating factor. ERA authority member Vicky Campbell agreed and said it was the obligation of all employers to follow the law. MBIE is encouraging anyone who worked at Manukau Auto Valet Limited in the past six years to get in contact, as they may be owed wage arrears.