A Christchurch bar manager has been ordered to personally pay a former worker nearly $20,000 after he was made to work without wages and charged $12,000 in connection with transferring his work visa.

The Employment Relations Authority found Daler Singh was knowingly involved in breaches of employment law while managing Mad’z Drink ‘N’ Dine, a bar operated by IK Hospitality Limited.

The worker, Gurpreet Singh, was employed at the bar between 3 August and 12 September 2023 but was treated as a volunteer rather than a paid employee.

The Authority found Daler Singh had decided Gurpreet would not receive wages because he was supposedly gaining experience towards a Licensed Controller Qualification.

Despite working at the business, none of his hours were processed through payroll.

Gurpreet had also been told he needed to pay $12,000 for his Accredited Employer Work Visa to be transferred to IK Hospitality.

The payment was demanded during discussions about his employment involving Daler Singh and his brother, Manpreet Singh, who was the company’s sole director.

Gurpreet subsequently paid the money to Manpreet Singh on behalf of the company.

In October 2025, the Employment Relations Authority ordered IK Hospitality to pay Gurpreet $7,469.77 in unpaid wages and refund the $12,000 unlawful payment.

However, the company failed to pay and went into liquidation on 22 January 2026.

A liquidator’s report showed the business did not have enough assets to pay its secured creditors, leaving Gurpreet unlikely to recover his money.

He then took action against Daler Singh personally.

Although Daler was not a company director, the Authority found he effectively acted as its general manager, controlling daily operations, purchasing stock, organising staff rosters and approving timesheets.

Authority member Peter van Keulen found Daler had significant influence over the business and was directly responsible for Gurpreet not being paid.

“In terms of IK Hospitality not paying Mr G Singh for the hours that he worked, Mr D Singh was directly responsible for this.”

The Authority also found Daler knew about the $12,000 payment arrangement and had participated in discussions linking Gurpreet’s employment to the proposed visa transfer.

That meant he could be held personally liable for the company’s breaches of employment standards, despite not being its registered director.

In a determination issued on 29 October 2026, the Authority ordered Daler Singh to pay Gurpreet Singh $7,469.77 in gross wage arrears and $12,000 for the unlawful payment, a total of $19,469.77.