![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/four-square-martina-pictured-on-pollen-street-in-thames-6A3RJR25MBCRPOTXQMF3ZCRERU.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA Four Square in Thames and its owner have been fined a total of $44,000 after two migrant workers handed over $60,000 each to secure their jobs in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
The two workers, who each paid $60,000, had family ties to the sole business owner Jaswinder Singh, and entered New Zealand on Accredited Employer Work Visas in July and August 2023. The money was paid in India in seven instalments.<\/p>\n
Employment Relations Authority (ERA) member Helen van Druten ordered the company, A Dharni Enterprises Ltd, trading as Four Square Martina, to pay a penalty of $32,000 and Singh a penalty of $12,000. <\/p>\n
“Effectively, A Dharni Enterprises Ltd used the premiums to pay the employees’ own wages,” van Druten said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Four Square Martina pictured on Pollen Street in Thames. (Source: Google Maps)<\/p>\n
She found the arrangement provided A Dharni Enterprises Ltd with a financial advantage, freeing up company money that would otherwise be used to pay those wages.<\/p>\n
Van Druten said the workers were particularly vulnerable because their visas were tied to their employer, and they were new to the country. <\/p>\n
They only worked for the business briefly before leaving because Singh felt they had misrepresented their English ability during the recruitment process.<\/p>\n
The case followed a Labour Inspectorate investigation that began after the workers complained about the premiums in September 2023.<\/p>\n
The matter was initially investigated by Immigration Compliance and Investigations before being referred to the Labour Inspectorate for further action.<\/p>\n
The Inspectorate’s Migrant Exploitation Manager Natalie Gardiner said demanding money from migrant workers in return for employment was “a serious breach of employment standards”. <\/p>\n