Parents of the owner of four Pizza Huts "buy him out of prison" after his conviction for making his employees do his housework.

A Nelson man has been sentenced to nine months' home detention, 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay $150,000 in victim reparation for exploiting his workers.

Davinder Singh, 30, pleaded guilty to 25 charges after he exploited 12 Indian nationals who worked for him. The offending was described as "calculating" and "systematic and protracted", as it occurred over a period of around five years and in four separate shops.

Singh had workers on student visas working for more than the 20 hours their visa allowed them, yet only paid them for 20 hours of work. Some workers were working up to 70 hours per week, yet were only paid for 20 hours if they were on a student visa, or 40 hours if they were on a work or migrant visa.

Martin de Ruyter/Stuff Davinder Singh was sentenced on September 7 on over 30 charges related to exploiting workers and deceiving immigration authorities.

One employee was made to work seven days a week without sick leave, holiday pay, or overtime pay. Another employee lived at Singh's home where they were made to do housework.

Singh also had employees work for an initial one or two week period for training, unpaid.

He was also convicted on 13 charges relating to breach of working visas, misleading immigration officers, and obtaining by deception.

Singh owned the Pizza Hut franchise in Gore, Richmond, Blenheim and Nelson at the time of the offending, which have since been sold.

Judge Tony Zohrab said Singh had a "revisionist" attitude to his charges, despite pleading guilty, as Singh told probation officers that though he was ultimately liable, it was actually one of his employees who Singh left in charge that committed the offences.

"You seem to have rewritten history, and persuaded yourself that you are the victim, and your parents are victims, you were an accidental offender. I do not accept that for one minute."

Zohrab said Singh did not treat his employees uniformly badly, but said that was likely motivated by self-interest.

"I accept that at times there were some good things you did, for example providing food, accommodation, and making payments [on their behalf], but they were employees," he said.

"If you were completely merciless, then they would have left and expressed dissatisfaction on a much earlier occasion than they did, so it was in your own personal interests to make sure that it was not completely "Colditz Castle" [a German POW camp in WWII] like ... but, of course, they were employees, so it was not up to you to pay them when you felt like it, or keep company records when you felt like it."

Singh was granted home detention in part due to his own and his parents' poor health, and because a significant reimbursement of $150,000 was made on his behalf. Zohrab said Singh's parents had "managed to buy [Singh's] way out of prison".

"I appreciate a sentence of home detention, coupled with community work, will be difficult for you, but it might give you some insight as to what unpaid labour is actually like," he said.