Dalkey Restaurant Fined €10,000 For Trying To Prevent An Inspection Of The Workplace

A restaurant owner in Dalkey has been fined €10,000 along with a €10,000 fine for his restaurant – but spared jail time – after it was found that he obstructed an inspection of his employment records from the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The Irish Examiner reports that Mr Xiao Jin Xu, owner of Tropica restaurant at 3C Castle Street, Dalkey, faced charges of obstructing WRC inspectors.

Dublin District Court heard that a WRC inspector feared he would be punched or get headbutted after arriving at Tropica restaurant last June to do an unnanounced compliance check for workers who may have been non-EU nationals with no employment permits.

He explained to Xu that we wanted to interview his employees but was blocked from entering the kitchen to talk to staff, with Xu pushing him and putting his hands on him.

Despite gardai being present, the inspector was pushed several times and said he felt unsafe.

After about 30 minutes an employee produced papers from the staff allegedly in the restaurant but the inspector was still not allowed to talk to them.

It was revealed in court that in 2016 Xu was also aggressive but no prosecution was brought.