Restaurant bosses face fine for employing illegal workers
A SLEAFORD restaurateur has been issued with an on-the-spot penalty notice for employing illegal workers and could face a fine of up to £200,000.
Acting on intelligence, UK Border Agency officers visited the Bindi Indian restaurant in London Road, Grantham at 5.30pm on July 1.
The restaurant is run by Muhammed and Ella Karim of Sleaford.
The officers sealed all exits before interviewing the workers and checking their immigration status. They found two Bangladeshi men working in the kitchen - a 29-year-old who had overstayed his visa and a 39-year-old who had illegally entered the UK.
The UK Border Agency is now taking steps to remove both illegal workers from the country as soon as possible.
The business was issued with an on-the-spot penalty notice for employing illegal workers and may now face a fine of up to 200,000.
To avoid a heavy fine, the business must prove to the UK Border Agency that it carried out the correct pre-employment checks.
Rachel Challis, from the UK Border Agency's Boston-based team, said: "We are working hard to stop the illegal jobs which lure illegal immigrants to come to the UK. Any business in Lincolnshire that employs a foreign national who does not have permission to work is breaking the law and undermining law-abiding businesses. Rogue employers face heavy fines and could end up in jail.
"There are strict rules about which foreign nationals can get a job in the UK and businesses have a clear responsibility to carry out the right checks."
The UK Border Agency operates a tough civil penalty system which punishes bosses who fail to carry out proper checks on workers from outside Europe. A fine of up to 10,000 per worker can be imposed for every illegal worker found at a business.
Rogue employers can also be prosecuted for knowingly employing an illegal migrant worker. This applies in the most serious cases where employers knowingly use illegal migrant workers. The offence carries a maximum two-year custodial sentence and/or an unlimited fine.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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