Based on the article below a potential £160,000 fine may be in order for employing eight illegal workers.
The full article can be found here.
The Sandwich Company, in Bridgeman Street, was notified they are liable for a civil penalty notice for employing the eight illegal workers following the Home Office raid yesterday.
The owner is now facing a fine of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker unless proof is provided that the correct right-to-work checks were carried out.
Bosses at the site today told the Express & Star that the company’s paperwork was in order.
Seven women and one man, aged between 22 and 53 and all from India, were arrested at the premises in the town’s Premier Business Park.
A Home Office spokeswoman said that five of the women had overstayed their visas, one was working in breach of her visa conditions and one had sought leave to remain in the UK by deception.
Three of the women were detained pending removal from the UK and four were placed on immigration bail.
The man was found to be working in breach of his visa conditions. He was detained pending removal from the UK.
In a statement The Sandwich Company UK Ltd said: “We can confirm that immigration officials attended our premises yesterday to investigate the immigration status of our staff. We are fully co-operating and assisting them with their inquiries.
“We have not been charged for not complying with immigration requirements.
“It appears that since the legislation changes in May 2014 there have been changes to strengthen and simplify the civil penalty scheme for employers.
“The Sandwich Company works diligently to ensure we comply with all employment law.”
Home Office spokeswoman Catherine Ellis said: “Acting on intelligence, Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers visited The Sandwich Company.
“The Sandwich Company was served with a civil penalty notice for employing the eight illegal workers. This means the employer will be fined up to £20,000 per illegal worker unless proof is provided that the correct right to work checks were carried out. This is a total potential fine of £160,000.
“Illegal working is not victimless. It defrauds the taxpayer, undercuts honest employers and cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities.
“We would urge members of the public with information about suspected immigration abuse to get in touch.”
“The Home Office sends businesses the guidelines. The first question we ask applicants is if they are an EU citizen and have they got the right to work permit.
“Employers need to remember to carry out the necessary checks before taking people on.”
