A prosecutor at Central Ostrobothnia District Court on Thursday demanded that the owners face suspended prison sentences and a corporate fine. They stand accused of forcing a Nepalese man to do 750 hours of overtime work over a period of four months, including seven-day working weeks and 12-hour days without breaks.
According to the prosecutor, they had access to the worker’s banking codes, which they used to transfer most of his pay back to the restaurant’s account. As a result, the employee’s net wages were only 300 euros a month. The restaurant allegedly benefitted to the tune of 46,000 euros.
59k in back pay and damages
The prosecutor demands that the owners pay a corporate fineof 25,000 euros and forfeit their ill-gotten gains to the state. The worker is also seeking 49,000 euros in back pay and 10,000 euros in damages.
The suspects deny all charges, which stem back to 2010-11.
The company is based in Kokkola and also has operations in another west-coast town, Vaasa.