4 Nov 2015

Worker paid less than min wage, then sacked

12:45 pm on 4 November 2015

A telecommunications company has been ordered to pay more than $50,000 for unfairly dismissing a worker after paying him less than the minimum wage.

The Employment Relations Authority has found Auckland company Utel Telecom Group wrongly dismissed Chinese worker Tao Gu in April.

Utel hired Mr Gu as an assistant in October last year and paid him less than the minimum wage.

The authority said the company threatened to have him deported when Mr Gu, who was on a student visa, raised concerns.

During the final three months of his employment, Mr Gu was not paid at all.

The Authority ruled Utel had no reason for dismissing him. It said the company showed no remorse and ordered it to pay the Crown $20,000 and Mr Gu more than $30,000 in lost wages and compensation.

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