For Muhammad Naim, it was the latest in a series of exciting career opportunities.

Mr Naim was working as sous chef at the Pearl-Continental Hotel in Lahore, in his native Pakistan, when he was approached by Mr Shahid Sultan last February and offered a post as restaurant manager in Ireland.

A gold medal-winning chef in several prestigious international competitions, Mr Naim had previously worked in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates where he worked in a number of five-star hotels.

The job in Ireland appealed to him because he would have a Pakistani employer for the first time. Mr Sultan also invited him to pick his own team to bring with him. Mr Naim said he was offered £1,600 a month, a car, accommodation, meals and the cost of his flight from Lahore. The four staff he brought with him were to receive £1,000 and £1,200 a month.

He said the contract was verbal. "I have never insisted on things being written down. I have always taken people at their word and I have never been let down before."

According to Mr Naim, the team arrived in Ireland on July 8th, and immediately set about preparing the opening of the Tandoori Nites/Tandoori Express restaurant in Lucan. He said they worked from early morning until late at night to get the restaurant open by August 5th.

He said when he looked for payment, Mr Sultan asked if they could wait for another month, when the restaurant was up and running.

The accommodation promised had been provided, a house close to the restaurant. Mr Naim said he was also given a mobile phone, but no car.

Unusually for an Indian restaurant, Tandoori Nites opened at 9 a.m. to serve Irish breakfasts, and also served conventional Irish lunches. Although staff had agreed to work an eight-hour day, six days a week, Mr Naim said they worked from before 9 a.m. each day until after midnight.

"It was a new restaurant. You do whatever you have to do to get things going. It's normal to work 10, 12 or 13 hours."

From then on, he said, Mr Sultan continually promised to pay them in a day or two. As a single man, he was not under as much financial pressure as the staff he had hired. "They have wives and children and needed the money to send home. It was very hard for them."

Eventually he gave his employer a week's notice. The matter went to a hearing which awarded the men over £40,000 in compensation.

Although Mr Naim's share of the award came to more than £10,000, he said he was only seeking the £5,098 in salary which he was owed. He said the men were only prepared to take a total of £13,800.

While the other men have found new jobs, Mr Naim is awaiting amendment to his work permit before taking up a job at Jurys Hotel in Waterford.