A Nepalese migrant worker who was on a “grossly excessive” 70-hour week at a Co Kerry takeaway and paid well under the minimum wage has won more than €23,000 in compensation.
Suman Bhurtel had been earning an average hourly wage of just €8.24 while working for Chicken Castle Ltd, trading as the Chicken Club, Main Street, Castleisland, Co Kerry, an adjudication hearing at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) concluded.
Mr Bhurtel, who had an employment permit and worked as a Chef De Partie, was paid €6.52 less than the hourly wage set out in his contract and more than €3 less than the €11.30 per hour minimum wage applicable at the time.
The adjudicator, Úna Glazier-Farmer, ruled Chicken Castle was in breach of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 on foot of five complaints, as well as under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000.
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Chicken Castle Ltd is owned by Surat Singh (59), of Castleisland, Co Kerry, a Portuguese national. The company was represented at the hearing by company secretary Satwinder Singh (32), also of Castleisland.
Mr Bhurtel, who was represented by the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI), told the hearing he started work in Castleisland in October 2020 but got no annual leave in 2020 or 2021.
He said he got leave between October 25th, 2022 and December 7th, 2022, when he travelled to Nepal, but did not receive any payment while there. He said he “rarely” received a day off, and that working seven days was “the norm”. In March/April of 2023, he worked for 48 consecutive days, he said.
Mr Singh said Mr Bhurtel worked 39 hours a week, never on Sundays, and was paid an annual salary of €30,000. He said that when Mr Bhurtel took annual leave in October 2022 there was no money in the company account, and that Mr Bhurtel was, by agreement, paid €4,490 in cash in March 2023, with the money being paid into his bank account.
The adjudicator decided Mr Bhurtel had reasonable cause for bringing a delayed complaint to the WRC given that his immigration visa, employment, and accommodation were all dependent on his being employed by Castle Chicken “which left him in a vulnerable position. He was also in the process of family reunification, which further tied him to [his employer].”
It was only when his employment was terminated that the chef sought advice from Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) in February of this year, the adjudicator noted.
“The evidence that he worked from between 2pm to midnight on a daily basis without weekly rest breaks is accepted,” she said. “I am satisfied, on the basis of evidence presented, that a working week of at least 70 hours was the regular reality for the complainant.”
Commenting on the case, MRCI Co-Director Neil Bruton said it was not a surprise that people from outside the EU with employment permits continued to face exploitation.
“It is very challenging for people on permits to change jobs. Employers know this, which makes it very hard for workers to stand up for their rights. Requiring workers to stay in the employment permit system for a five-year period before they have the freedom to work without a permit is far too long.”
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