Pub owners fined $30k after refusing sick leave
Treating employees as casual rather than permanent part-time workers has resulted in a $30,000 fine for two long-standing pub owners.
Malcolm and Claire Bennett, owners and operators of the Coalgate Tavern in Canterbury for more than 30 years, were penalised for 30 breaches of the the Holiday Act by the Employment Relations Authority.
The decision followed an investigation by the Labour Inspectorate into the treatment of 17 employees at the pub.
Inspectorate regional manager Jeanie Borsboom said the breaches had occurred over a significant period of time.
‘‘One employee who had worked for the pair for 10 years was only paid for one sick day throughout the period; she worked whilst unwell, having been told by the Bennetts that she wasn’t entitled to paid leave,’’ Borsboom said.
‘‘Another employee did not take any time off work when her mother died because she couldn’t afford to take unpaid leave.’’
An investigation began after an employee queried her ability to accrue holiday leave and take paid sick days.
According to the authority’s decision, the Bennetts viewed all of the employees as casual workers and not permanent staff. It rejected the bar owners’ stance.
‘‘The authority found the lack of sick leave particularly serious as it hits at the very heart of the objective of the Holidays Act,’’ Borsboom said.
Authority member David Appleton found that while the Bennetts had ‘‘no intention to actively exploit or disadvantage the employees’’, they had ‘‘recklessly shut their eyes to their obligations under the Holidays Act’’.
The Coalgate Tavern is currently on the market for $875,000. Calls to the tavern went to an answer machine.