NZA restaurant and takeaway business owned by Shazneen Shariza Khan, operating in Auckland and Cromwell, has been fined $130,000 by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) for systematically exploiting workers. The company, SSM Investments Limited, was ordered to pay $90,000 in penalties, while Khan received a personal penalty of $40,000. These fines followed an earlier ruling requiring the company to pay $147,001 in back wages to five former employees. The ERA found that the business violated multiple employment standards, including failure to pay the minimum wage, sick leave, and holiday pay, as well as inaccurate record-keeping and unlawful wage deductions. Khan was directly implicated in these violations. The Labour Inspectorate investigation was initiated based on complaints from employees at the Cromwell branch. The funds for back wages were secured through a freezing order in October 2025 and subsequently distributed to the affected workers. One worker was owed over $78,500, including $49,000 in unpaid wages and $11,000 in illegal deductions.
Bias read (Center): The article presents a factual account of legal proceedings against an employer for labor law violations. It includes direct quotes from the Employment Relations Authority and the Labour Inspectorate, providing balanced perspectives without overtly favoring any side. There is no evident ideological,
