Legal News

The owners of two restaurants in Potters Bar are facing fines worth thousands of pounds after Border Agency officials and local police detained restaurant workers for visa offences.

The migrant workers were arrested on Thursday (17/12/13) after officials from the UK Border Agency, officers from the Potters Bar’s Police Safer Neighbourhood Team and a licensing officer from Hertsmere Council swooped on the restaurants.

At Papa John’s on The Broadway two arrests were made – a 22-year-old man from India and a 27-year-old man from Pakistan were both found to have overstayed their visas.

Border Agency officers and police also made four arrests at the Buffet Palace restaurant on Potters Bar High Street, where a 51-year-old man from Malaysia was found to have overstayed his visa. The officials also detained two Chinese women, both aged 28, and a Chinese man aged 45 who were found to be in the UK illegally.

The process of removing those arrested from the UK will now take place – one of the Chinese women arrested at the Buffet Palace was released on bail while the process to remove her from the UK continues. The others were sent to an immigration detention centre.

The owners of the restaurants could face fines of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker detained if the Border Agency finds that they failed to carry out sufficient checks to ascertain the immigration status of the workers they hired.

The government has shifted the onus on checking whether workers are eligible to work in the UK to employers. Similarly, landlords of rental accommodation also have to perform checks to make sure tenants are legally allowed to stay in the UK.

This has promoted a backlash among those who say employers and landlords have been left to carry out the Border Agency’s work for them in policing immigration.

Supporters of an open immigration policy in the UK say that without migrant workers – who are willing to work long hours for relatively low levels of pay – much of the UK’s businesses and the NHS would collapse.

LibDem leader Nick Clegg recently said that without migration, the NHS and even the City of London would “fall over”.

UK bosses also recently came out in favour of more migration, pointing out that migrant workers tend to work harder and for less pay than UK workers –
who are also more likely to claim benefits than migrants, according to recent research.

However, Chris Evans from Home Office Immigration Enforcement said that illegal workers cheated legitimate jobseekers out of employment opportunities – as well as defrauding the public purse. Illegal workers are often paid cash-in-hand or are given basic accommodation and a nominal wage rather than the minimum wage.

Some illegal workers may also be seeking asylum in the UK – or may have entered the UK illegally after fleeing violence or persecution in their home countries.

Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors can advise on all immigration and asylum matters, including illegal entry to the UK, detention and right to work in the UK.

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors also handle asylum appeals – and Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of Legal Aid solicitors.

Contact Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors on 020 7923 4020 – or for urgent advice on immigration or asylum call the Duncan Lewis Emergency Helpline on 020 7275 2036.