A Radlett restaurant has been slapped with a hefty £90,000 fine after it was found to have employed illegal workers.
Per Tutti opened on Watling Street in 2023 and is one of four, with other branches located in St Albans, Berkhamsted and Harpenden. The latter opened as recently as Tuesday, November 12.
The St Albans branch also received a £45,000 fine for employing illegal workers.
The information was revealed in data released by the UK Home Office on illegal working civil penalties for UK employers between April 1 and June 30.
According to the Gov.uk website, offenders can be sent to jail for five years and given an unlimited fine if found guilty of employing someone with a “reasonable cause to believe” that they did not have the right to work in the UK.
This includes if an employer has any reason to believe that staff did not have leave or permission to enter or remain in the UK, their leave had expired, they were not allowed to do certain types of work, or their papers were incorrect or false.
For offences where correct checks are not implemented, as opposed to workers being known as illegal to employers, fines of up to £60,000 can be issued for each offending worker.
The fines for employers and landlords allowing illegal migrants to work on their premises or rent their properties was trebled in August 2023, with the old fines set at £15,000 for a first breach of employing illegal migrants and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches.
Between 2018 and August 2023, almost 5,000 civil penalties were issued to employers across the UK, with a total value of £88.4million.
Per Tutti has been contacted for comment.
Photo credit: Per Tutti Restaurants Facebook
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