NZD 56,934 in arrears, compensation and lost wages was awarded to former head chef Lita Beattie after New Zealand’s Employment Relations Authority ruled she was an employee, not an independent contractor.
Sarah Kennedy-Martin found Beattie worked 50 to 60 hours a week from March to August 2024, was promised NZD 27 an hour, but was sometimes paid cash at NZD 20—below the NZD 23.15 adult minimum wage.
Text messages showed Beattie repeatedly chasing unpaid wages, which she said had reached about NZD 8,000 by June 2024; Roberts’ mother had also agreed to pay NZD 500 a fortnight toward the arrears.
The authority ordered Roberts to pay NZD 23,050 in wage arrears, NZD 18,000 for humiliation and injury to feelings, NZD 14,040 in lost wages and NZD 1,844 in holiday pay, plus account for KiwiSaver and PAYE.