The Federal Court has ordered India’s former high commissioner to Australia to pay a former domestic employee thousands of dollars in compensation for unpaid wages and unfair working conditions.Seema Sherghill arrived in Australia in April 2015, and spent about a year working for then-high commissioner Navdeep Suri Singh at his Canberra home.The Federal Court heard Ms Sherghill worked seven days a week, for 17.5 hours per day. Her duties included cleaning the house, preparing meals and tidying the garden, and she was only let out of the house to walk Mr Suri’s dog. Ms Sherghill was initially paid the equivalent of about $7.80 per day, before she complained, and Mr Suri increased her rate to $9 per day.In total, she received about $3,400 for her 13 months of work. Ms Sherghill had previously worked for Mr Suri while he served as India’s Ambassador to Egypt, but said this was a much different experience, as she was solely responsible for the upkeep of the eight-bedroom house.”I was responsible for doing everything,” Ms Sherghill said.”When he and his wife were away, instead of my usual chores, Mr Suri or his wife usually would ask me to make large batches of samosas and freeze them, or to clean the silverware.
Mr Suri did not appear at the hearing, but Justice Elizabeth Raper granted an order for the case to proceed in his absence.
Justice Raper found Mr Suri contravened four separate sections of the Fair Work Act. [Ms Sherghill’s] employment conditions bore no resemblance to what one would expect under Australian law,” Justice Raper said.”Her passport was taken from her, she worked seven days a week, was never permitted to take leave and was only allowed outside the house for brief periods a day when looking after Mr Suri’s dog.”
Justice Raper also found Mr Suri was ineligible to claim foreign state immunity, because Ms Sherghill did not work for the High Commission itself, nor diplomatic immunity, as the engagement of a domestic worker was not an official function of his position . She has ordered Mr Suri to pay Ms Sherghill more than $136,000 plus interest, within 60 days.
