A South London curry house will retain its premises licence despite immigration officers discovering an illegal worker on site. Café Raj, located at 69 Well Hall Road in Eltham, faced a Home Office request to revoke its licence after a 32-year-old Bangladeshi man was found working in the kitchen without the right to work in the UK.
Greenwich Council's Licensing Sub-Committee B decided on June 4 not to follow the Home Office's recommendation, instead imposing additional conditions on the Indian restaurant's licence.
Home Office investigation
The South London Immigration, Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) team visited Café Raj in June last year. They found Muhammad Hasan Ovi, a Bangladeshi national, working in the kitchen without proper documentation. Alex Romano, presenting the Home Office case, stated that both Mr Ovi and the restaurant manager admitted he had worked there for about a week, providing "clear and consistent evidence of unlawful working."
Ms Romano confirmed that no right-to-work checks were conducted before Mr Ovi started employment. She also noted that Café Raj had not yet paid the £45,000 civil penalty issued by the Home Office in August. Additionally, the company owning the restaurant, Foxy Raj Limited, had attempted to dissolve itself while the penalty was outstanding but was blocked by a Home Office objection.
Restaurant's defense
Shafiul Uddin, director of Foxy Raj Ltd, spoke on behalf of his father Azir Uddin, the premises licence holder. He described the incident as an "isolated occurrence" and explained the circumstances. Mr Ovi had approached him for a trial shift on a Sunday, and the Home Office visit was triggered by a roadside operation, not a complaint about Café Raj.
Mr Uddin admitted that a right-to-work check via the government's share code system should have been completed before Mr Ovi started work. He stated, "This was not a deliberate or knowing breach. There was no intention to employ someone without the right to work." He added that the restaurant now always carries out such checks.
Council decision
The committee decided to add stricter conditions to Café Raj's licence. The primary condition is that no one can be employed without a prior right-to-work check. The restaurant must retain copies of all documentation, including passports and visas, and conduct quarterly audits of employees' right-to-work records.
The committee acknowledged the Home Office's evidence of a failure in management checks but noted that Café Raj had no previous adverse licensing findings and no evidence of wider crime or disorder. Revocation was deemed disproportionate.
Mr Uddin assured the council that if given the opportunity to retain the licence, they "won't be disappointed."
