The director of a restaurant business in Weymouth has been disqualified as a director for employing illegal workers.
Jamal Uddin has given an undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which prevents him from being directly or indirectly involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company for six years from 15 September 2016.
Mr Uddin was the director of a restaurant company trading under the name Weymouth Tandoori and on 27 January 2015 Home Office Immigration Enforcement Officers discovered that he was employing 2 workers who were not eligible to work in the UK.
The company went into liquidation on 31 July 2015 owing £33,802 to creditors, of which £20,000 was the fine imposed by the Home Office Immigration and Enforcement for employing two illegal workers.
Commenting on the disqualification, Sue MacLeod, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service said:
Illegal workers are not protected under employment law, and as well as cheating legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities, these employers don’t ensure appropriate tax is paid, and as a result can undercut honest competitors.
This should serve as a warning to other directors who may feel tempted to break the law.
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 makes employers responsible for preventing illegal workers in the UK. To comply with the law, a company must check and be able to prove documents have been checked prior to recruitment, showing that a person is entitled to work in the UK.