He was told to "act like a man" after a stranger threatened him at work
A New Zealand tattoo artist on a work visa has been awarded more than $47,000 after his employer threatened to report him to immigration for raising workplace safety concerns.
The Employment Relations Authority issued its determination on October 27, finding that Brutalitees Limited - a tattoo studio - unjustifiably constructively dismissed the worker and unjustifiably disadvantaged him in his employment.
The worker started with Brutalitees in February 2024. His visa permitted him to work only for that employer.
Things came apart at the end of March 2025. Police arrived at the studio and removed a co-worker, who the worker later understood had been charged with a serious crime. The worker was left alone, fielding police questions he could not answer.
The next day, a stranger walked in, shouted abuse, and threatened him with violence. The worker believed the confrontation was connected to the co-worker's situation.
Shaken and alone in the store, the worker raised his safety concerns with the company's sole director.
The response, according to evidence before the Authority, was to tell him to "act like a man" and "harden up." The Authority found the director was dismissive and unwilling to discuss any measures to address his safety.
The worker saw his doctor and advised the director he needed sick leave.
His pay stopped.
What followed was a string of text messages. The director told the worker "I hope you got savings," and warned that if he spoke to the business's other shareholder, "if I hear again you go crying to josh then I'm shutting the whole thing down."
When the worker said he was still unwell, the director replied: "I have grounds to dismiss you if you are not here tomorrow or no medical and you won't get paid again this week if you don't work this week. I will ring immigration and tell them you have abandoned your job."
The Authority found the director was personally aware the worker held a visa that tied him exclusively to Brutalitees, and that he had a young child in New Zealand.
The worker raised a personal grievance. The director's response, by text: "are you serious Matt! just got email with your personal grievance. I'm calling immigration first thing. after giving you an opportunity and all the shit we've been thu…you have some nerve!!!"
The texts kept coming. The director wrote: "how dare you come to my country and destroy my nearly 20 year old business…you ungrateful arrogant prick…"
The Authority noted that further messages containing personal insults and expletives were provided as evidence but did not need to be reproduced.
The worker resigned on May 1, 2025, telling the director his position had become "untenable."
Brutalitees did not file any documents with the Authority and did not appear at the investigation meeting. The last correspondence the Authority received from the director was an email dismissing the proceedings as "a total waste of time" and stating the business had closed and there was no money.
The Authority found the employer's conduct was "fundamentally repudiatory" of the employment relationship - in plain terms, so serious a breach that it destroyed the foundation of the working arrangement. Brutalitees had refused to engage with the worker's concerns, leveraged his visa status to intimidate him, and withheld wages and holiday pay. The worker's resignation, in those circumstances, amounted to a constructive dismissal - where the employer's behaviour effectively forces the employee out, even though the employee is the one who formally resigns.
The unjustified disadvantage claim also succeeded. That claim applies where an employer's unjustifiable actions negatively affect the conditions of someone's employment. The Authority held that the worker had a right to expect his safety concerns would be genuinely considered. Brutalitees' response - telling him to lock the door while insisting the shop stay open - fell well short.
The director had claimed the worker owed $700 in "cash advances." The Authority rejected this. Text messages showed the payments were partial wage arrears, directed by a shareholder, and the director was aware of the arrangement.
On remedies, the Authority ordered Brutalitees to pay:
$1,779.00 gross in unpaid wages, plus interest from May 1, 2025 until payment in full;
$3,376.67 gross in unpaid holiday pay;
$35,000 in compensation for hurt, humiliation, loss of dignity, and injury to feelings arising from the constructive dismissal;
$5,000 in compensation for the unjustified disadvantage;
$2,250.00 in costs; and
$71.55 for the filing fee.
In setting the $35,000 figure, the Authority noted the additional distress and vulnerability the worker experienced as a migrant employee, Brutalitees' awareness of that vulnerability, and how it shaped the employer's actions. The personal insults repeatedly directed at the worker were also a factor. No reduction was made for contributory conduct - the Authority found the worker had done nothing to bring the situation on himself.
For HR teams, the case is a sharp reminder that a botched response to a workplace safety complaint can itself become the grievance - and that using a worker's visa status as leverage turns a manageable situation into a five-figure liability.
