- Ikbal Hussain hired three illegal workers from Bangladesh without conducting right-to-work checks at the Indian restaurant in Hertfordshire
- The workers were discovered during a raid by Immigration Enforcement officers in 2020
- Hussain has now been banned as a company director until 2031 after further investigations by the Insolvency Service
The owner of an Indian restaurant and takeaway in Hertfordshire has been banned as a company director for seven years after employing three illegal workers.
Ikbal Hussain, 51, hired the workers at the Taste of Raj on High Street, Stanstead Abbotts, before the restaurant was raided by Immigration Enforcement officials in 2020.
Kevin Read, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
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 represents a serious breach of legislation and of the standards expected of company directors.
As a result of this breach, he cannot be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company in the UK for the next seven years.
Hussain, of Walters Road, Enfield, was the sole director of the restaurant, trading under the company name of Tender Love Ltd, since June 2014.
Immigration Enforcement carried out an operation at the premises in March 2020, finding three men with no right to work in the UK.
The three workers, originally from Bangladesh and aged in their 40s, told investigators they had worked at the restaurant for between four days and up to two months.
Hussain had employed them without conducting right-to-work checks and also failed to keep the required documentation proving they were eligible to work in the UK.
Suran Padiachie, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, said:
Illegal working cheats honest workers out of employment, puts vulnerable people at risk, and defrauds the public purse.
We're clamping down on illegal working by ramping up enforcement activity and tripling fines for rogue employers. We will continue to work with partners including the Insolvency Service to tackle illegal migration in all its forms.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from Hussain, and his seven-year ban began on Friday 16 February.
It prevents him from becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
