A Barnham restaurant has had its premises licence revoked after hiring employees with no right to work. The restaurant and takeaway Passage to India at 15 The Square, Barnham, saw its licence revoked on Monday, August 19, by Arun District Council at a meeting of its licensing sub-committee. This means the licensable activities allowed by the licence – the provision of late night refreshments and playing of recorded music indoors, and the sale or supply of alcohol for on and off premises – have been revoked.
The decision followed a licence review request of the restaurant made by the Home Office immigration enforcement and alcohol licensing team to the council, after immigration compliance and enforcement (ICE) officers visited the premises on January 27 this year. READ MORE: Brighton restaurant caught trading outside opening hours A report on the visit presented to the committee said five of the eight employees met by officers were illegal workers, and all bar one of them had no right to work in the UK, with one having a right to work in the care sector. They said the licence holder and manager for the restaurant since 2005, Muhammad Yousef Islam, had provided officers with right to work documentation for some workers, but not for any of the eight employees met by officers during their visit.
Chief Immigration Officer for ICE South East, Harry Taylor, told the committee his team suspected some of the employees were also being paid ‘grossly’ under the minimum wage, par.