The Authority found Huy Quang Tran, sole director of former Auckland labour hire company High-End Renov Group Limited (HERG), personally liable for breaches including failing to pay minimum wage and holiday entitlements, inadequate record keeping, and seeking unlawful premiums from 2 migrant workers to secure their jobs.
HERG, which supplied painters and plasterers to construction sites in Auckland and Christchurch, entered liquidation in March 2025 and has since been removed from the Companies Register.
While operating, HERG recruited workers from Vietnam, Mr Tran's country of birth.
ERA Member Robert Davies ordered Mr Tran to pay:
- $132,291.14 in wage arrears, holiday pay and unlawfully received employment premiums to 3 former employees
- $71,178.75 in penalties for his involvement in the breaches.
The total amount ordered, excluding interest and costs, is $203,469.89. Mr Davies ordered that each of the 3 workers receive $6,000 of the penalty amount with the remaining $53,178.75 to be paid to the Crown.
Unlawful premiums
A disputed aspect of the case concerned the payment of unlawful employment premiums by 2 migrant workers. The Authority found the workers each paid $30,000 to obtain employment with HERG in New Zealand. The payments were made in Vietnam before the workers arrived in New Zealand and were linked to employment arranged through the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme.
The Authority rejected Mr Tran's explanation that the payments represented personal loan repayments and concluded they had been made to secure employment with HERG. It found HERG unlawfully sought and received $60,000 in employment premiums and ordered the money to be repaid.
The fact the payments were made offshore did not prevent New Zealand employment law from applying because they related to employment in New Zealand.
Last month the Employment Court ruled that overseas payments made to secure a job in New Zealand are illegal.
The Wages Protection Act 1983 prohibits workers being charged a fee for a job. However, previously it was not clear if New Zealand law could be applied to such a payment that was made overseas. With the October ruling the Court has confirmed that these payments made overseas are prohibited.
Jeanie Borsboom, Acting Head of the Labour Inspectorate, said the ruling by the ERA sends a clear message that employers and company directors who breach employment standards can be held personally accountable.
“Employment standards are minimum legal requirements and all workers in New Zealand, including migrant workers, are entitled to them.
"This case involved significant underpayments, unlawful employment premiums and serious record-keeping failures. Employers cannot avoid their obligations through inadequate systems or poor record keeping.
“The Labour Inspectorate will continue to investigate allegations of worker exploitation and take enforcement action where employers seek to profit at the expense of vulnerable workers,” Ms Borsboom said.
Significant impact
Mr Davies said the breaches were serious and had a significant impact on the workers.
“The breaches affected 3 migrant employees and concerned fundamental statutory protections. The premiums are especially serious because the sums were substantial and the payments were connected to the prospect of employment in New Zealand.
“I am satisfied that Mr Tran was actively involved in HERG’s breaches and had knowledge of the essential facts constituting them.”
MBIE encourages anyone who thinks they, or someone else, has been treated unfairly in the workplace to contact its contact centre number where their concerns will be handled in a safe environment.
Contact Centre: 0800 20 90 20