Restaurant faces £50k penalty after being fined for the same offence

5th October 2009, 8:08am

A Bournemouth restaurant could face a fine of up to £50,000 for employing illegal workers shortly after being fined £30,000 for the same offence.

Officers from the UK Border Agency visited Taj Mahal, 42 Poole Road, Westbourne, on 30th September after receiving intelligence that illegal workers were employed there.

After the documents of staff were checked, five Bangladeshi men were found to have no legal right to be employed in the UK.

Four of the men aged 22, 26, 27 and 45 were arrested and taken to Poole police station where they remain in detention. A fifth illegal worker, aged 27, was dealt with at the scene and was placed on immigration bail.

If it is confirmed that the five have no right to be in the country, the UK Border Agency will remove them.

The illegal workers were found carrying out a variety of jobs at Taj Mahal including working as waiters and cooking food in the kitchen.

The restaurant was issued with an on-the-spot penalty notice for employing the five illegal workers.

To avoid a fine of up to £50,000 (up to £10,000 per illegal worker), the employers must prove to the Agency that they carried out the correct right-to-work checks to employ workers from outside Europe such as asking for passports or work permits.

It comes shortly after Taj Mahal was fined £30,000 for employing six illegal workers.

On 23rd October 2008, Agency officers found six Bangladeshi men employed there, despite having no legal right to work in the United Kingdom.

Although the employer was given time to produce evidence that right-to-work checks were carried out, he was unable to do so and was fined £30,000.

Phillip Smith, UK Border Agency chief of operations in Wales and South West, said: "The message is clear for employers - we will not tolerate illegal working. It is a crime that not only undercuts local business but also has a serious impact on communities, taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.

"There are simple ways of checking a foreign national's right to work and there is no excuse for not checking the identity of those applying for jobs. We support and encourage employers to comply with the rules, but when they fail to do so it is right that we crack down on them."

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