Restaurant Owners' Record Fine for Employing Illegal Workers

A company, which ran a Chinese restaurant in Colchester, and its directors have been found guilty of six asylum and immigration offences at Harwich Magistrates' Court and fined a record sum of £96,000.

Each defendant was fined £5,000 per offence, the maximum amount on conviction in the Magistrates' Court, plus costs and a £15 victim surcharge. The victim fine surcharge is a fee levied by the courts that is used to compensate victims of crime and for other related victims' programs.

The case came to court after the UK Border Agency (UKBA), acting on a tip off, raided the restaurant and arrested six illegal workers from China, Indonesia and Malaysia. In his summing up at the end of the five-day trial, the district judge said he was satisfied that those arrested were working illegally and were employees as defined by the law. Some of the arrested workers had been wearing chefs' clothing, some had attempted to escape and one had asked to call his boss.

A spokeswoman for the UKBA said, "This record fine sends out a clear message that both the UK Border Agency and the courts will not tolerate employers who hire illegal workers."

A tough new civil penalty system for employers who fail to carry out proper checks on workers from outside Europe was introduced by the Government in February 2008. A fine of up to £10,000 per worker can be imposed for every illegal worker found working at a business.

For guidance on the actions that an employer must take to prevent illegal working, see http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/preventingillegalworking/.

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