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Noodle bar caught employing five illegal workers
05 November 2009
A Cambridge noodle bar is facing a potential £50,000 fine after it was caught employing five illegal workers.
We are happy to provide guidance to businesses on the laws around migrant labour and preventing the hiring of illegal workers Sarah Norton, immigration officer
The Yippee Noodle Bar in King Street was visited by UK Border Agency officers shortly after 1700 on 3 November 2009.
Staff checks revealed that five of the restaurant's chefs were in the United Kingdom illegally and did not have permission to work.
Three of the five men - a 38-year-old, a 37-year-old and a 36-year-old - were failed asylum seekers, and two - aged 23 and 34 - were illegal entrants. All five were Chinese.
The 23-year-old was arrested on suspicion of identity offences and has been remanded in custody. Steps are being taken to remove the others from the country.
The restaurant now faces a potential fine of up to £50,000 unless it can prove that the correct pre-employment checks were carried out.
Immigration officer Sarah Norton, who was in charge of the intelligence-led operation, said:
'We are happy to provide guidance to businesses on the laws around migrant labour and preventing the hiring of illegal workers.
'Employers have a legal duty to ensure all their staff are entitled to work in the UK. Where businesses refuse to play by the rules, they can expect to get caught and to get punished.'
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 this website, or by calling our sponsorship and employers' helpline on 0845 010 6677.
Anyone who suspects that illegal workers are being employed in Cambridgeshire should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be assured.