Hertfordshire Restaurant Boss Slapped With Seven-Year Ban Over Illegal Workers
Ikbal Hussain, owner of the Taste of Raj Indian restaurant in Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, has been banned as a company director for seven years after bosses caught him hiring illegal workers. The 51-year-old employed three Bangladeshi men without proper right-to-work checks before a 2020 Immigration Enforcement raid exposed the scheme.
Three Illegal Workers Exposed in 2020 Raid
Immigration officers swooped on the High Street eatery in March 2020. They found three men in their 40s working without legal permission. The workers had been employed between four days and two months. Hussain, the sole director of Tender 1 Ltd since 2014, failed to carry out mandatory right-to-work checks or keep paperwork proving workers’ eligibility.
Chief Investigator Brands Breach ‘Serious’
Kevin Read, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, hammered Hussain’s blatant disregard for the law:
“Ikbal Hussain’s failure to ensure the required checks were carried out resulted in the employment of three illegal workers, in contravention of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. This is a serious breach of legislation and of the standards expected of company directors.”
Home Office Issues Warning as Clampdown Continues
Suran Padiachie of the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement warned that illegal working “cheats honest workers out of employment, puts vulnerable people at risk, and defrauds the public purse.” Hussain accepted a disqualification undertaking from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, banning him from running or promoting a company without court approval.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by the Insolvency Service and Immigration Enforcement to crack down on illegal working and immigration offences across the UK.
