Several restaurants in the UK are closing down and having their licenses revoked for employing migrant workers who do not have valid work permits.
Bangladeshi restaurants have become one of the targets of the UK Home Office's crackdown on illegal work recently. In these consecutive raids, migrants not permitted to work full time – particularly those who have come to the UK on a student visa — are being arrested.
Restaurants are also receiving substantial fines for employing undocumented workers.
On October 25, the license of a Bangladeshi restaurant owner in King's Lynn was revoked.
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Immigration officers raided the Spice Inn, another Bangladeshi-owned curry house in the town, based on a tip-off last July. The restaurant owner lost his license as well.
It was also reported that undocumented workers were being paid well below the minimum wage. One undocumented worker admitted that they were paid only £50 for a whole week after excluding food and living expenses.
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According to concerned sources, business owners hire undocumented workers at reduced wages, hoping to make higher profits, but they end up having to close down their operations after paying fines.
Jack Davies, chief immigration officer for the East of England, said that the raid on the Spice Inn comes amid a significant increase in employing undocumented workers in Norfolk.
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