AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd’s attempt to keep his name secret in an employment battle with staff from his New Zealand restaurant has failed.

Rudd’s restaurant, Phil’s Place in Tauranga, has been taken to New Zealand’s Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and the drummer has tried to obtain name suppression to keep his name out of the media.

Rudd told the ERA he was a well-known musician and could be at risk if his identity was revealed.

In a recent decision, suppression was denied.

ERA member Tania Tetitaha said Rudd had used his fame to promote Phil’s Place and his involvement with the restaurant was well known.

She said the ERA understood Rudd had been “intimately involved” with the cause of dispute and does not largely contest the events or his involvement.

“If so, his reputation cannot be marred by events he accepts are truthful,” she said.

“There are no exceptional circumstances or real risk to the administration of justice if this evidence were published.”

Media had also already published his connection with the dispute, rendering any name suppression useless, she said.

Allegations against Rudd’s restaurant were lodged in August 2012, but details are yet to be revealed.

Rudd has owned Phil’s Place since 2011 and its website says the restaurant is “the result of a long held vision of Phil Rudd, drummer of rock band AC/DC, to offer you fresh local food at affordable prices delivered by warm and friendly staff”.