A grocery store in the Scottish town of Arbroath is facing a substantial fine for hiring an employee who did not have the right to be working in Britain.
The Costcutters store in Fisheracre, Arbroath, was raided earlier this week (Thursday, January 12th) by officers from the UK Border Agency (UKBA) following the receipt of intelligence regarding its employees.
Questioning and investigations discovered that a 26-year-old Nepalese man was working in the shop illegally. The man has now been arrested and is awaiting deportation from the country.
However, the company could also be facing a problem after being issued with a civil penalty notice for employing the man illegally. If the owners are unable to prove that they conducted legally required right-to-work checks before hiring the individual, they could be issued with a fine of up to £10,000.
Phil Taylor, the regional director for the UKBA, commented on the situation: “We will not tolerate illegal working which threatens to damage our communities - it undercuts wages and exploits vulnerable workers. The UK Border Agency will act on intelligence to target those businesses which ignore the rules and remove those with no right to be in the UK.”
He added that people who continue to ignore the UK immigration laws will be found and removed from the country.