A Domino’s franchise operator has been fined and banned from hiring additional migrant workers for a year after employing a worker outside the conditions of their visa.
GBN Trading LTD, which operates Domino’s Pukekohe and Domino’s Pokeno, was ordered to pay a total of $4500 after unsuccessfully challenging an immigration infringement notice in court.
The penalty includes a $3000 fine and $1500 in prosecution costs. The company has also been prohibited from employing additional migrant workers for the next 12 months.
An investigation found the employee’s visa allowed them to carry out administration work only at the Domino’s Pukekohe branch in Auckland. However, authorities discovered the worker was instead working at the Domino’s Pokeno store in Waikato.
Jason Perry said the employer knowingly breached the conditions attached to the worker’s visa.
"The employer knowingly employed someone in a way that did not meet the conditions specified on their work visa and now they must face the consequences," Perry said, as quoted by Stuff.
Immigration New Zealand said the infringement scheme, introduced two years ago, had already resulted in more than 300 notices being issued to businesses that failed to comply with immigration rules. Those notices have collectively led to $1 million in penalties.
Perry said the figures showed immigration offences were being actively enforced.
"Employers must follow their obligations, and if they don’t, our immigration infringement scheme has proven to be an effective tool in holding them to account," Perry said, Stuff has quoted.
Officials warned that while standard breaches may result in fines and restrictions on hiring migrant workers, more serious violations of immigration law could lead to criminal prosecution.