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Potential fines of £50,000 for two Ipswich businesses
16 November 2009
Two Ipswich takeaways are facing potentially heavy fines after the UK Border Agency caught them employing illegal workers.
The UK Border Agency works with employers so they understand the rules, but businesses have a clear responsibility to carry out the right checks before taking on migrant workers. If they fail to do so, they face heavy fines. Jack Davis, Chief Immigration Officer
Officers visited the Dragon Express and Yummy Chinese - both in Queens Way - on Thursday (12 November) evening.
Checks revealed two members of staff at Dragon Express and three at Yummy Chinese did not have permission to work in the United Kingdom.
The illegal workers at Dragon Express were a 25-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man, both failed asylum seekers and both from China. At Yummy Chinese those arrested were a 24-year-old Malaysian woman who had overstayed her visa, a 24-year-old Chinese man who had entered the United Kingdom illegally and a 24-year-old Afghan man who had overstayed his visa.
Another illegal entrant, a 32-year-old Chinese man, was discovered in a flat above Yummy Chinese.
Steps are now being taken to remove all six from the United Kingdom as soon as possible.
Dragon Express now faces a potential fine of up to £20,000 and Yummy Chinese a potential fine of up to £30,000 if they cannot prove that the correct pre-employment checks were carried out.
Chief Immigration Officer Jack Davis, who was in charge of the intelligence-led visits, said:
'We work to remove anyone we find with no right to be in the UK.
'Illegal working is not a victimless crime. It undercuts honest employers and has a serious impact on communities, taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.
'The UK Border Agency works with employers so they understand the rules, but businesses have a clear responsibility to carry out the right checks before taking on migrant workers. If they fail to do so, they face heavy fines.'
A tough new civil penalty system was brought in last year to provide a fast and effective way of tackling bosses who fail to carry out proper checks on workers from outside Europe. A fine of up to £10,000 per worker can be imposed for every illegal worker found at a business.
Guidance for employers on preventing illegal working can be found on the UK Border Agency website, www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers or by calling the UK Border Agency Employers Helpline on 0845 010 6677.
Anyone who suspects that illegal workers are being employed in Suffolk should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be assured.