Shamiana has been ordered to pay $33,000 and Shamiana Enterprises $18,000 for repeatedly failing to pay staff properly.

An Indian restaurant chain has been fined $41,000for failing to pay staff correctly.

Shamiana and Shamiana Enterprises director Satish Shetty has been fined for failing to pay staff minimum wage and holiday pay, as well as keep correct employment agreements.

Labour Inspectorate regional manager David Milne said the companies collectively employed 120 staff across 22 restaurants nationwide.

Milne said the inspectorate had several complaints dating back to August 2015 of Shetty not upholding his staffs' basic employment rights.

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Despite arrears previously being paid and action taken to adhere to the inspectorate's improvement notice, breaches continued to occur.

Last year the chain was ordered to pay a former manager $18,000 by the Employment Relations Authority in wage arrears and compensation.

Milne said it was "surprising" that even after several complaints to the inspectorate Shetty was not deterred from underpaying his staff, including unpaid work trials.

Shamiana was ordered to pay $33,000 and Shamiana Enterprises was ordered to pay $18,000 for the repeat breaches.

Employers should understand additional strong penalties would be sought where any ongoing non-compliance was found, Milne said.

"Not only is underpayment and mistreatment at the detriment of employees, it also gives companies an unfair commercial advantage over their law-abiding competitors," Milne said.

"On top of this, reputations are left tarnished and the National Consumer Survey 2016, conducted by Consumer Protection found that knowing a business treats its workers fairly regularly affects consumers' purchasing decisions."