Covid-19
A well-known Hamilton eatery abused the wage subsidy scheme, former employees claim. David Williams reports.
Things seemed fine until the alert level dropped.
University of Waikato students Jaida Puke and Elora Kelly worked part-time for Iguana Street Bar and Restaurant, hailed as “one of Hamilton’s original restaurants”, and were being paid the wage subsidy “correctly” in the Level 4 lockdown. They weren’t concerned, at the time, about not getting payslips.
The regime changed when Level 3 arrived. While business was restricted to contactless takeaways and deliveries, staff were told: “You will only be paid for the hours that you work.”
Leading up to lockdown, the restaurant was busy, and staff were getting at least 20 hours’ work, says Puke, who’s studying law. But in Level 3, with shorter opening hours, this level of work – and pay, consequently – was not maintained.
Also, staff were required to do “unnecessary cleaning” and other “random jobs” to make up the hours, she says. “Everyone was struggling and begging for hours.”
Kelly, who’s studying biology, discovered her contract didn’t contain guaranteed hours. One week she only got five hours’ work. “I had to use my leave; I had to use sick days.”
Puke adds: “I think all of us ended blowing through all of our leave.”
The pair have left Iguana now, and the restaurant denies wrongdoing – while admitting “some contracts are extremely old and need updating”.
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