A restaurant and takeaway business of SSM Investments Limited, with branches in Auckland and Cromwell, and its owner, Shazneen Shariza Khan have been ordered to pay $130,000 in penalties for exploiting workers.
This decision was taken now by Employment Relations Authority after their earlier order in April 2026 to pay five former workers $147,001 in wage arrears.
The company is reported to run The Souvlaki & Kebab Grill in Cromwell.
ERA Member Philip Cheyne ordered SSM Investments Limited to pay penalties of $90,000 and owner Shazneen Shariza Khan to pay penalties of $40,000. He said their conduct “undermines implied trust and confidence obligations and statutory good faith requirements” and “demonstrates the inherent inequity of power in the employment relationship and undermines employment standards”.
In his determination dealing with the arrears, Cheyne found the business had breached multiple employment standards, including: failing to pay the five workers the minimum wage, to keep holidays and leave records, to pay the employees sick leave, holiday and public holiday pay, and not keeping accurate wages and time records, etc.
Cheyne also found Khan was personally involved in the breaches and therefore liable for penalties.
The case follows a Labour Inspectorate investigation prompted by complaints from employees of the business’s Cromwell branch.
After a part-heard Investigation Meeting at the ERA the business, SSM Investments Limited and its sole director Shazneen Shariza Khan, agreed they were liable for $147,001 in arrears owed to five workers.
The workers were underpaid a total of $147,001, with individual arrears ranging from more than $7,000 to over $78,500. The breaches affected workers employed across the business’s Cromwell and Auckland operations.
Funds to cover the arrears were secured after a freezing order in October 2025 and held in trust. These funds have been paid to the affected workers.
Labour Inspectorate Investigations Manager for the Central and Southern regions, Taahera Begum, said that while the business and Khan had acknowledged their wrongdoing, the breaches were serious and caused harm to the workers concerned.
Begum said the extent and duration of the breaches created unnecessary stress and hardship for the affected workers.
“This was sustained and egregious exploitation with one employee owed more than $78,500, including $49,000 in unpaid wages and a further $11,000 in unlawful deductions for rent, loans and other items.”
