Mechanic defies orders to pay ex-worker

The owner of an Auckland car workshop says he will defy two orders to pay more than $11,000 in unpaid wages to a former employee.

The Employment Relations Authority has given Glen Eden Mechanical & Tyres 14 days to pay mechanic Royce Julian after it ignored an earlier ruling that said it had short-changed the former worker.

According to the ruling, released today, Mr Julian was hired by Mr Reddy. Although he had never been given a written employment agreement to sign, as far as he knew he was an employee.

Mr Julian told the authority he worked at the company between July and November 2009, but his pay was short every week.

He told APNZ that Mr Reddy "flew into a rage" when he asked for what he was owed and told him to get out of his workshop.

"I was not permitted to collect my tools or anything else, and then the police turned up at my house asking me why I'd been threatening his children with a machete. It is absolutely insane, I had done nothing of the sort."

According to the ruling, the company even issued a trespass notice against Mr Julian when he tried to claim the unpaid wages.

Mr Julian said he still routinely received trespass notices "like some perverted Christmas card".

He said he was not hopeful of getting a cent out of Mr Reddy.

"If there is a man alive that can recover the money from this guy I will pay any price. I hold zero hope that anything will go in my favour."

And Mr Reddy told APNZ he would rather liquidate the company than pay up.

"I paid him everything when he was a contractor here. That's what I did, I paid him every penny. Nobody works for anybody for free for six months for free, would they? Would you do that?".

Mr Reddy initially told the authority that Mr Julian had never even been employed by the workshop. He said he had spent time on the premises "in a social way" but may have been sub-contracting there.

He said the company employed only family members and dismissed Mr Julian's claim as "extortion".

The company later conceded it had employed other workers. Another employee, Phil Harris, told the authority he had seen Mr Julian at the workshop almost every day and suspected he used to work more than 40 hours per week.

The authority accepted Mr Julian had been employed fulltime by the company, working an average of 9.5 hours a day at an hourly rate of $20.

In its decision on January 12, the authority ordered the company to pay $10,900 in unpaid wages and $1350 in unpaid holiday pay.

When Mr Julian didn't get the money he returned to the authority, which made a compliance order to ensure the company payed him what he was owed.

In its decision, the authority also ordered the company to pay Mr Julian an extra $340 for the cost of filing the application.

Employment lawyer Don Mackinnon said Mr Julian could now seek a personal penalty against the individuals within the company.

He could also take his case to the civil courts because he has a fully enforceable debt against the company.

"If they've got a penalty action against the individuals and they continue to refuse to pay they could be looking at contempt of court, but there's a lot of water to get under the bridge before you get to that point."