Restaurant must pay Dorset's largest-ever fine for illegal workers

Two Bournemouth businesses have been fined a total of more than £40,000 for employing illegal workers.

Jee Foo Chinese takeaway has been fined £12,500 for employing three illegal staff, while Taj Mahal Indian restaurant must pay £30,000 after it employed six illegal workers - the largest single fine handed out to a business in Dorset since civil penalties for employers were introduced by the Government last year.

Officers from the UK Border Agency visited both businesses late last year after receiving intelligence about potential illegal workers.

On 23 October 2008, a team from our Poole office went to Taj Mahal in Poole Road, entering shortly after 2000.

The immigration status of the staff was checked, and six Bangladeshi men - aged 25, 28, 28, 28, 30 and 68 - were found to have no legal right to work in the United Kingdom, despite being employed in the kitchen and as waiters.

Immigration officers issued Taj Mahal with an on-the-spot notice, warning the employers that they might receive a large fine unless they could provide proof that they had carried out the necessary document checks (such as asking for passports or work permits) before giving the men jobs.

No evidence was provided, and the employers have now been given a £30,000 civil penalty fine.

A week later, on 1 November 2008, the Agency visited Jee Foo Chinese takeaway on Charminster Road.

Following checks on staff, three Chinese nationals - a 31-year-old woman and two men aged 30 and 35 - were found to have no legal right to work in the United Kingdom.

Again, the employers were issued with a notice warning that they would be fined unless they could prove that the legally required document checks had been carried out. They were unable to do so, and have now been handed a £12,500 fine for employing illegal workers.

Jane Farleigh, regional director of the UK Border Agency in Wales and the South West, said: "These substantial fines show how seriously we are taking the problem of illegal working. The use of illegal workers presents a serious risk to legitimate competition and is unfair on honest employers.

"The UK Border Agency works with employers so they understand the rules, but businesses have a responsibility to carry out the right checks before they give migrant workers jobs. If they don't, they could end up having to pay the kind of fine imposed on these employers in Bournemouth."

The businesses have also been named on the UK Border Agency website, which publishes the details of employers who have been found liable for a civil penalty.

If you are an employer and you are unsure of the steps you must take to avoid employing illegal workers, you can visit www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers or call the UK Border Agency employers' helpline on 0845 010 6677.

Words: Clare Riley

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