A Bay of Plenty kiwifruit contracting business has been ordered to pay more than $226,000 by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) for breaches including not paying time and a half and denying minimum wage.
The pay out included $161,343.67 plus interest in money owed to workers and $65,000 in penalties for breaching the employment law.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment investigated Freemind Enterprize Ltd following a complaint by a former worker.
The investigation revealed the employer did not have written employment agreements, wage and time or holiday records for 121 employees that were hired to harvest kiwifruit in the Bay of Plenty between 2009 and 2013 - documents required by law and kept for six years.
The employer also failed to provide these workers with holiday pay and time and a half pay for work performed on a public holiday. One employee was also denied minimum wages.