An employer who sacked a worker by text message for taking a day of sick leave after being paid nothing for four months of work has been fined $200,000.

The Indian national, who was on a bridging visa, was 24 years old when he started work as a cook at a Perth restaurant in 2012 after responding to a job advertisement on Gumtree.

The Fair Work Ombudsman successfully prosecuted Indian restaurant owner Simon Peter Mackenzie, who owned and ran The Curry Tree restaurant in Nedlands before it burnt down in 2014.

The Federal Circuit Court has penalised Mr Mackenzie $34,815 and his company, Siner Enterprises Pty Ltd, an additional $174,075.

The Court also ordered Mr Mackenzie and his company to pay the worker a total of $32,661 in outstanding wages and compensation for the economic loss he suffered as a result of being sacked.