Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting

There were none.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer outlined the procedure for the hearing.

Representations by the applicant:

PC Chris Stevens elaborated upon the report and explained that an illegal worker was found inside the premises on 4^th October 2018, during a visit regarding a separate matter. He stated that as he entered the shop and was greeted by the owner, the illegal worker had stated to walk towards the stock room at the back of the shop and go downstairs. PC Stevens noted this behaviour and asked the man to return and to provide identification. He left to get it and returned several minutes later, empty-handed, stating that the door to his flat was locked. PC Stevens asked the worker for his details and they were written down for him, by the shop owner, after having to ask him for his name and his address.

At this point PC Stevens asked Members to question why the shop owner had to ask his worker for details that he should have already been privy to.

The worker was subsequently arrested and taken into custody where he provided a second set of details. It later transpired that the 2 sets of details were false and that the worker was in fact an over stayer with no right to work in the UK, which PC Stevens stated raised the same question around the shop owner’s role in writing down false details.

PC Stevens advised that CCTV footage from the premises clearly showed the man working behind the counter serving customers as well as stocking shelves, and suggested that this evidence was most likely the reason that the representor would not be disputing the fact that an illegal worker was employed at the premises.

Members were informed that according to Section 182 Guidance, revocation of a licence should be seriously considered even in the first instance where illegal working was found, although they might take into account the fact that the premises had not come to the attention of the Licensing Committee by way of a review, and choose to suspend the licence, or attach conditions to it instead. It was the position of the Police that any of these options would serve as a strong message to other businesses that these practices would not be tolerated.

Representations by the respondent:

Mr Fender, representing, explained that the owner had made a genuine mistake; since the worker had an entry visa and was in the country legally, he believed he was also entitled to work. The owner was now fully aware of how robust checks should have been and had been very proactive following the incident; he currently employed 2 foreign students who were entitled to work in the UK, Home Office checks confirmed this.

Mr Fender stated that any remedial actions should address the cause, and be appropriate and proportionate and advised that the only appropriate action to take in this situation would be to modify the licence’s existing conditions. He further stated that suspension of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.