The wealthiest family in Britain has come under fire for allegedly abusing domestic help at their Lake Geneva estate.

The affluent Hinduja family, according to prosecutor Yves Bertossa, spent more money on their pet dog than on any of their slaves, who worked long shifts for eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, for as little as £6.2 an hour.

He produced a budget paper under "Pets" that revealed the family's yearly allotment for their pet dog was 8,584 Swiss francs (£7,615).

Mr Bertossa also noted the absence of specified working hours or days off in the staff contracts, arguing that the employees were essentially at the family’s beck and call, with confiscated passports limiting their freedom.

In defence, the Hinduja family’s lawyers said the staff were treated respectfully and had accommodation provided.

“The salary can’t simply be reduced to what they were paid in cash” as food and lodging was covered, said Yael Hayat, a lawyer for family scion Ajay Hinduja. Eighteen-hour working days was also an exaggeration, she said.

The family’s lawyers argued that some employees voluntarily returned to work in Geneva multiple times, implying satisfaction with their conditions compared to their situations in India.

The prosecutors sought prison sentences for Ajay Hinduja and his wife Namrata, along with an order for the family to pay 1 million Swiss francs in court costs and contribute 3.5 million francs to a compensation fund for the staff.

The defence said Mr Bertossa’s allegations were misleading and asserted that the family’s hiring practices had been improved and now adhered to local regulations. During the trial, Ajay Hinduja testified that he was not well-informed about the staff’s working conditions because their recruitment was managed by the Hinduja Group in India.

But they had since stopped informal payment practices and all hiring was now done locally through a third party.

“You won’t find a single employee who says they were hired by Ajay,” Hayat told the court. “The reality is he knows nothing as he was elsewhere.”

Mr Bertossa sought severe penalties, including over five years of imprisonment for senior family members and significant financial penalties.

He also criticised absence from the trial of senior family members Prakash and Kamal Hinduja suggesting it reflected contempt for the legal process.