Who was sanctioned, and for what?

The restaurant and takeaway business with branches in Auckland and Cromwell did not pay five employees the minimum wage, denied holiday, public holiday and sick pay, made unlawful deductions from wages and kept no accurate wage, time and leave records. After the Employment Relations Authority (ERA, New Zealand's employment tribunal) had already ordered arrears of 147,001 NZD, it imposed a penalty of 90,000 NZD against the company following an investigation by the Labour Inspectorate (labour standards enforcement unit of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment). Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Authority / court

Employment Relations Authority (Verfahren des Labour Inspectorate, MBIE)

Area of law

Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Food and agriculture

Mitigating circumstances

The company acknowledged its wrongdoing.

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

3 Sep 2026

Original amount 90,000 NZD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 3 Sep 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

At a site for two-storey residential units in Kelston (Auckland), workers were working on the upper floor without adequate fall protection, and the site also had temporary platforms, partially removed scaffolding and unsecured ladders; WorkSafe (New Zealand's workplace health and safety regulator) therefore prohibited work at height on the second floor by a prohibition notice on 30 August 2024. Because work continued there on 2 and 4 September 2024 nonetheless, the Waitakere District Court imposed a fine of 38,500 NZD on 20 August 2026, plus costs of 1,099.10 NZD.

Authority / court

Waitakere District Court (Anklage: WorkSafe New Zealand)

Area of law

Health and safety and employment law · Workplace safety and accidents

Legal basis

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s 107(1), (2)(b)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Construction and real estate

Liability of senior managers

The prohibition notice had been issued to one of the directors.

Published

4 Sep 2026

Original amount 38,500 NZD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 20 Aug 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

In June 2024 timber kicked back from an inadequately guarded stack saw at the Gisborne sawmill and seriously injured a worker's arm; seven weeks later another worker was crushed between two forklifts and suffered spinal and pelvic fractures. WorkSafe (New Zealand's workplace health and safety regulator) found systemic failings in machine guarding, risk assessment, traffic management, training and maintenance; the company had not notified the first incident and had not acted on earlier formal directions to fix the risks. On 18 March 2026 the Gisborne District Court imposed a fine of 601,250 NZD and 100,754 NZD in reparation.

Authority / court

Gisborne District Court (Anklage: WorkSafe New Zealand)

Area of law

Health and safety and employment law · Workplace safety and accidents

Legal basis

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, ss 36(1)(a), 48(1), 48(2)(c)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Manufacturing and mechanical engineering

Published

30 Mar 2026

Original amount 601,250 NZD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 18 Mar 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

On the application of a Labour Inspector, the Employment Relations Authority (New Zealand's employment relations tribunal) ordered Well Sushi Limited to pay a penalty of 30,000 NZD to the Crown. The company had admitted failing to pay an employee on a work visa the minimum wage for all hours worked, miscalculating his annual leave, public holiday and sick leave entitlements and failing to keep complete time and wage records; arrears totalling 53,940.03 NZD had already been paid under a settlement. No penalties were sought against the co-respondent Hutt Food Limited because the time limit had expired.

Authority / court

Employment Relations Authority, Wellington (Antrag: Labour Inspector, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment)

Area of law

Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work

Legal basis

Employment Relations Act 2000 (ss. 130, 135), Minimum Wage Act 1983 (s. 6), Holidays Act 2003 (u. a. ss. 16, 24, 25, 28A, 40, 49, 50, 60, 71, 72, 81)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Food and agriculture

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Settlement without a hearing, full payment of arrears, changed payroll processes and no previous breaches; the Authority therefore reduced the calculated 40,000 NZD to 30,000 NZD.

Original amount 30,000 NZD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 Jul 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

At the Mount Maunganui fertiliser plant in July 2023, a worker cleaning the conveyor system fell onto a moving belt, was dragged under the frame of another conveyor and died. There was no effective, trained and monitored safe system of work for cleaning and maintenance, and no effective guarding or emergency stop devices. On 18 March 2025 the Tauranga District Court imposed a fine of 420,000 NZD (starting point 700,000 NZD, 40% discounts) and made no reparation order because the family had already received 287,202.86 NZD (77,000 NZD directly from the company and 210,202.86 NZD from a group life insurance policy held by the company).

Authority / court

Tauranga District Court (Anklage: WorkSafe New Zealand)

Area of law

Health and safety and employment law · Workplace safety and accidents

Legal basis

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, ss 36(1)(a), 48(1), 48(2)(c) ([2025] NZDC 5282)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Mitigating circumstances

Guilty plea, remorse, cooperation and reparation, with discounts totalling 40%; payments to the family totalling 287,202.86 NZD, of which 77,000 NZD was paid directly and 210,202.86 NZD came from the company's group life insurance policy.

Original amount 420,000 NZD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 18 Mar 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

In November 2020 a rack loaded with around nine tonnes of steel collapsed at the company's steel store in Wigram (Christchurch), killing a storeman; the racks were neither braced nor fixed to the floor, were not inspected regularly and had been built without engineering input. On 1 November 2024 the Christchurch District Court imposed a fine of 330,000 NZD (starting point 600,000 NZD) and 100,000 NZD in reparation for emotional harm; costs of 17,507.39 NZD were added.

Authority / court

Christchurch District Court (Anklage: WorkSafe New Zealand)

Area of law

Health and safety and employment law · Workplace safety and accidents

Legal basis

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, ss 36(1)(a), 48(1), 48(2)(c)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Steel and metals

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Reductions for cooperation (5%), remorse including payments already made to the family (10%), willingness to pay reparation (10%), guilty plea (15%) and no previous convictions in 43 years of trading (5%).

Published

11 Nov 2024

Original amount 330,000 NZD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 1 Nov 2024.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link