A judge says a property developer used “inexcusable” delaying tactics while trying to overturn $96,000 in penalties for multiple employment law breaches involving migrant workers.

Napier developer Malcolm Herbert and his company MAH Enterprises will now have to pay almost another $10,000 in court costs after he failed to follow up on a challenge to penalties award in the Employment Court.

A labour inspector from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) began an investigation in 2021 after an employee alleged he had not been paid for the annual holidays he was entitled to.

The inspector’s report concluded that MAH had breached the law 42 times by failing to keep proper wage, time, holiday and leave records. It said 13 employees did not receive annual leave entitlements and, for another worker, MAH was using an individual employment agreement that did not comply with the law...

Employment Court Chief Judge Christina Inglis has now said that MAH Enterprises subsequently made no attempt to follow up on the legal challenge...

She said the delay was “inordinate and inexcusable”, similar to what happened at the ERA hearing.

“The ongoing delays are prejudicing the 14 employees at the centre of the proceedings who were to be paid a portion of the penalties awarded by the authority and who are facing ongoing uncertainty as to their position,” Judge Inglis said.

“They are entitled to closure.”...