The south east London businesses fined over illegal workers including restaurants

Josh Bolton
Sun, 7 July 2024

Pizza 2 Night and Suruchi have been hit with fines (Image: Google)

A Bromley Indian restaurant and an Erith pizza takeaway shop are among nine south east London businesses which have been fined thousands for illegal working.

These are businesses which have hired employees who do not have the right to work in the UK.

Suruchi Indian Restaurant and Takeaway, of Bromley Road in Bromley, was given a £30,000 penalty. 

Pizza 2 Night, of West Street in Erith, was given a £15,000 penalty. 

Hand Car Wash Sidcup, of Maidstone Road in Sidcup, was given a £15,000 penalty.

More than 100 businesses across the country have been "named and shamed" in the government's quarterly round-up of companies that have been hit with a penalty for using illegal workers.

The Home Office releases the data publicly, which is updated every three months, and the latest set relates to the period October 1 to December 31, 2023.

Other local business on the list were:

• K&K Food Store, of Lewisham High Street, given a £30,000 penalty.

• Ameen, of Lewisham High Street, given a £15,000 penalty.

• United Butchers, of Powis Street in Woolwich, given a £60,000 penalty.

• Quality Windows, of Bromley Road in Bromley, given a £10,000 penalty.

• Unity Locs, of Brownhill Road in Catford, given a £15,000 penalty.

• Royal Kebab, of Woolwich New Road in Woolwich, given a £10,000 penalty.

According to the government website, there can be severe penalties for employing individuals who do not have "the right to work" in the UK.

Employers can be sent to jail for up to five years and be ordered to pay an unlimited fine if found guilty of employing someone who you knew or had "reasonable cause to believe" did not have the right to work in the country.

This primarily concerns employees' immigration status in instances such as if the worker did not have "leave" (permission) to enter or remain in the UK, if their leave had expired, if they were not allowed to do certain types of work or if their papers were incorrect or false.

Employers can also be penalised if they fail to do the correct checks when employing someone who does not have the right to work.

In these cases, employers may receive a "referral notice" and will have to pay a civil penalty of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker.