The Home Office is calling for an Eastbourne restaurant’s licence to be revoked after it was fined for employing illegal workers.
Next Monday (January 20), an Eastbourne Borough Council licensing panel is due to consider a licence review application connected with Kerala Flavours — an Indian restaurant and takeaway in Seaside.
The application, which asks for the restaurant’s licence to be revoked, has been submitted to the council by the Home Office in light of what it describes as “illegal working” at the premises.
According to the Home Office, Immigration Enforcement visited the restaurant in June last year and discovered three “immigration offenders” working for the business. The Home Office says the business was subsequently issued a £40,000 civil penalty, which has been paid in full.
While the fine has been paid, the Home Office argues the restaurant’s licence, which allows it to sell alcohol and late night refreshments, should be revoked to “act as a deterrent” both to the business and others.
In the application, a spokesman for Immigration Enforcement said: “This business has clearly failed to meet the prevention of crime and disorder objective. The license holder would have been aware of their responsibilities to uphold the licensing objectives as they are clearly defined as part of the premises license application.
“Immigration Enforcement has submitted that the license holder knew that documents should be checked but failed to conduct the checks prior to commence employment. A basic document check would have deemed all three employees as not having the right to work.”
The spokesman added: “Merely remedying the existing situation (for instance by the imposition of additional conditions or a suspension) is insufficient to act as a deterrent to the licence holder and other premises’ licence holders from engaging in criminal activity by employing illegal workers and facilitating disqualified immigrants to work illegally.
“Immigration Enforcement asks that the premises licence is revoked.”
For its part the restaurant says it has now amended its processes and believes “breaches should not occur in the future”.
These arguments were put forward in an email published on the council’s website in connection with the licensing hearing. The email is listed as being “on behalf of the Premises Licence Holder”, which is a company known as Hoque & H Ltd.
While the author of the email is redacted, it appears to have been written by Md Azim Uddin Chowdry, who is both the restaurant’s Designated Premises Supervisor and sole person associated with Hoque & H Ltd on its Companies House listing.
The email reads: “I acknowledge that I made an error in employing individuals who did not have the right to work in the UK. This was due to a lapse in my processes in checking the paperwork for employees. I have rectified this breach by ensuring that I have processes in place for checking the ID and right to work of all potential employees before making any offer of employment to them.
“The immigration authorities imposed a hefty fine further to the discovery of individuals at the premises who did not have the right to work. This was a hefty fine as my business is a small business serving the local public. I have with great difficulty arranged to pay the fine in full.”
It continues: “Rest assured, I take my obligations seriously and any breaches should not occur in the future. I would like you to give weight to my compliance with the breaches found and my [assurance] that they should not occur again in the future before making any decision on my premises licence.
“This is my livelihood and I am doing everything I can to comply with all my obligations as well as trying to survive as a small business owner.”
Both parties will be able to put forward their cases to the licensing panel before councillors make their decision. This decision will be open to appeal through the courts.
