But aside from a four-week period where he received wages Patel received nothing. The authority awarded Patel $40,848 in lost wages, $3267 in holiday pay, the $4207 paid by Patel to Inland Revenue and $5000 compensation. He resigned in June last year and took his case to the Employment Relations Authority, claiming more than $40,000 in wages. Hemal Patel won his employment case against his former employer, Papatoetoe car yard S & G Plus Auto Electrical in south Auckland. An Indian worker who went 73 weeks without being paid said he was too afraid to make a complaint against his employer for fear of losing his job and eligibility to live in New Zealand.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 29, 2016 22:52 UTC