After an immigration raid discovered undocumented workers, one of whom had entered the country illegally by small boat the year before, the Chelmsford restaurant’s licence was revoked. When East of England Immigration, Compliance, and Enforcement team members visited Mosaic on Springfield Road on June 29, 2023, they reported seeing two undocumented workers.
However, Mosaic told the Chelmsford licencing review meeting they were not working at the premises. But immigration enforcement officers say one person was encountered while working behind a “Just Eat” terminal in a ‘staff only’ area, and the other was washing dishes in the kitchen.
According to Mosaic, one of the men—a relative of the licence holder—was in the restaurant looking for company since he was lonely and couldn’t speak English. The committee took notice of the fact that he had applied for permission to remain after entering the UK unlawfully on May 7, 2023, by small boat.
The restaurant said he was only charging their mobile phone by the “Just Eat” terminal area and talking to the staff but otherwise not doing any work. The committee was also told there was no evidence that the alleged illegal worker had been taking orders for delivery and the licence holder had offered Home Office CCTV footage showing evidence that there was no illegal work. It was alleged that this had been declined.
Just two days before the hearing, the committee was informed that he had mentioned charging his cell phone. When ICE officials found the other accused illegal worker in the kitchen, he might have been cleaning his own dishes.
The committee took notice of the fact that the licence holder had seen the man’s asylum seeker card and knew they were not allowed to work for pay or unpaid work. The committee was informed that this individual was homeless and that a member of the Mosaic staff had given them permission to remain on the property and eat for free.
It was claimed that the employee who had let this person remain on the property had been fired. The committee was informed that on the initial visit, he informed the ICE officials that he was just cleaning his hands.
The Committee observed that the individual’s first claim that he was only cleaning his hands would be contradicted if he had been doing his own dishwashing.
Graham Hopkins, representing the restaurant said the restaurant had set up new files for existing staff, had closed off rooms to prevent people living there and banned anyone but staff on its books from going behind the counter. He said these could be included as conditions. He asked the committee not to revoke the licence but to impose conditions as seen fit.
The committee has concluded that both individuals were working illegally. A statement as a part of the decision said: “Notwithstanding the licence-holders denial and the explanations put forward by him for the two individuals in question being on the Mosaic Restaurant premises, the committee was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that these two individuals were illegal workers employed at the premises at the time of the unannounced visit on the 29 June 2023 by officers from the Immigration, Compliance and Enforcement Team (ICE).”
It adds: “The Committee had given consideration to the proposed conditions put forward by the licence-holders agent as an alternative option to revocation. However, the Committee was of the view that revocation was the only appropriate course of action in this particular case.”
Restaurants and takeout establishments that use foreign labourers ought to face harsh penalties, and our Home Office should be cracking down on immigration workers across the counties.
If you are an illegal immigrant who entered the United Kingdom unlawfully, you should be treated as such by the law, and any eateries and takeout establishments that are discovered to be hiring illegal labourers should lose their licences.
Unfortunately, in order to reduce labour costs, fast food chains and even convenience stores are turning to foreign employment. However, the Home Office need to be enforcing stiffer penalties against individuals who believe that hiring illegal immigrants is acceptable.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 