Pakistani chef sees €91k award restored

A Pakistani chef who was forced to work seven days a week for pocket money, with just Christmas day off, has had a €91,000 award against his employer restored by the Supreme Court.

Muhammad Younis, 59, worked up to 77 hours a week at his second cousin’s Poppadom restaurant in Newlands Cross, Dublin, for 51c an hour.

He left Pakistan in 2002 to come to Ireland to work as a tandoori chef for his cousin, Amjad Hussein. He did not speak English, he said.

In 2011, a rights commissioner awarded him €91,134 — €86,134 of which was back pay. His cousin did not pay and the Labour Court subsequently made an order the money be paid.

Mr Hussein, who had not contested the Labour Court decision, then brought judicial review proceedings in the High Court which in 2012, quashed the award.

Mr Hussein contended Mr Younis could not invoke the protection afforded by Irish labour law since any contract of employment he had was illegal because the chef did not have an employment permit.

The High Court ruled as Mr Younis was working illegally — his employer had failed to renew his work permit — he was not protected by Irish employment law.

Mr Younis, supported by Amnesty International and the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland, appealed the High Court ruling to the Supreme Court which yesterday overturned that decision.

Mr Justice John Murray, on behalf of the court, said

it was not the function of the Labour Court in this case to uphold or refuse to uphold the merits of the decision of the rights commissioner, he said.