Migrant worker awarded €79,214 over ‘egregious exploitation’ in Ireland By Gordon Deegan

Migrant worker awarded €79,214 over ‘egregious exploitation’ in Ireland

By Gordon Deegan

An allegedly exploited migrant worker from India who had no English and was paid an effective hourly rate as low as €1.61 has been awarded total compensation of €79,214 by Ireland’s workplace watchdog.

At the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Adjudicator Brian Dalton ordered restaurant operator Madhu Foods Limited, trading as Guru Indian Cuisine of Park Street, Townlands, Dundalk, to pay the compensation to Vasantkumar Barot for multiple breaches of workplace legislation.

Mr Barot, represented by Sylwia Nowakowska of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), told the WRC in sworn testimony that he was misled by the company and paid nearly €15,000 for a work permit after being promised a Commis Chef role for 40 hours per week with weekly earnings of about €570.

He said he borrowed money from family and friends to fund the permit and arrived in Ireland in mid-March 2023.

According to his evidence, he was instead directed to work on a farm owned by the firm from early morning before being assigned shifts at restaurants controlled by the company.

He claimed he worked more than 90 hours per week on average and received irregular payments ranging from €1,000 to as little as €99, paid in cash or via electronic transfer.

Mr Barot said he received €11,600 in total between March 14, 2023, and March 26, 2024, equating to an average gross hourly rate of €2.96 in 2023 and €1.61 in 2024.

The restaurant firm did not appear at the WRC hearing to challenge the claims.

Mr Barot alleged he had been “exploited in a most egregious manner” after paying a large sum on the promise of a good job and later being told he still owed money due to allegedly inflated permit costs.

He told the tribunal the oppressive conditions forced him to run away from what he described as “economic slavery”, leaving him distressed and fearful about his future.

In his decision, Mr Dalton awarded €24,500 for breaches of the National Minimum Wage Act.

While noting there were no records to support the 90-hour work week claim, he emphasised that the employer had a legal duty to maintain records.

He said the employee provided credible evidence of long hours and assessed the minimum wage claim based on the statutory maximum of 48 hours per week.

Mr Dalton stated there was “no question” that Mr Barot had been exploited.

Additional awards included €15,000 for excessive working hours, €10,000 for lack of rest breaks, and €15,000 for racial harassment, which he described as “most egregious”.

Reacting to the decision, Migrant Rights Centre Ireland Director Neil Bruton said the ruling recognised the severity of the exploitation suffered by Mr Barot.

He said the worker arrived in Ireland with hopes for a better future but was instead subjected to conditions the organisation described as economic slavery.

Mr Bruton added that such cases are not isolated, warning that migrant workers tied to single employers are among the most vulnerable in the Irish labour market.

He called on authorities to make it easier for workers to change employers, strengthen enforcement, raise awareness of workers’ rights, and ensure employers who engage in exploitation face meaningful consequences.