The Insolvency Service (an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade) has recently issued a six-year ban to a South-East London restaurant director for employing individuals with no right to work.
The Insolvency Service is a well-known faction of the Department for Business and Trade which aims to confront "financial wrongdoing", as well as provide further economic and financial services for UK based companies.
Consequences of employing individuals who do not have the right to work
In February 2023, Immigration Enforcement visited Mr Mohammed Miah (the sole director) at his Indian restaurant, iNaga, and issued the company with a £20,000 fine. This penalty was issued as a result of two of Mr Miah's employees not having the right to work, as well as Mr Miah not completing any right to work checks. However, Mr Miah's company entered into liquidation in June 2023 with "liabilities of more than £75,000", and the fine remained unpaid. Mr Miah has now been disqualified from acting as a company director until September 2030.
The Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service (Mr Kevin Read) stated the following:
"Mohammed Miah employed two people who did not have the right to work in the UK, breaching immigration legislation and the standards we expect of company directors. His directorship ban means he cannot now be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company in the UK until September 2030. We will continue to work with our partners at the Home Office to clamp down on rogue employers who fail to comply with their statutory obligations."
Mr Miah will now be subject to a series of restrictions and consequences. This should serve as a cautionary tale to any employers who take a more lax approach in conducting right to work checks for their workers.
As we reported earlier this year, illegal working penalties tripled in February 2024. If employers conduct a valid right to work check, this can assist in providing them with a statutory excuse, which can, in turn, help them avoid a civil penalty. The Prevention of Illegal Working Legislation was put in place to protect employees and is taken extremely seriously by the Home Office and the Insolvency Service.
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