The Workplace Relations Commission found that chef Xiaofeng Gao was discriminated against on grounds of race and ordered his employer to pay €60,000 compensation. Adjudication Officer Shay Henry’s decision, dated 10 October 2025, also upheld complaints over wages, working time, annual leave, public holidays and transfer information.
Gao worked at Lam’s Asian Cuisine and Eskimo Pizza in Ballyjamesduff. He said he worked up to 73 hours a week, lacked proper breaks and was required to repay recruitment-related costs from his earnings. The company said he worked 39 hours weekly, received breaks and holidays, and that payments at issue related to loans. The adjudicator found no plausible evidence of those loans and concluded the promissory note concerned recruitment expenses.
The WRC also found that the employer failed to provide required information about a transfer of employment. It awarded €43,582.48 for payment of wages, €21,922.52 under the National Minimum Wage Act, €6,383 for annual leave, and €1,478 for public holidays. Separate awards covered Sunday work, daily and weekly rest breaks, excessive hours and the transfer breach. The adjudicator found the discrimination very serious and set compensation at two years’ contracted pay.