A restaurant in Bournemouth has had its licence revoked after employing illegal workers.
Cristallo, on West Cliff Road, was visited by Home Office Immigration Enforcement after intelligence was received about illegal workers at the premises.
The restaurant’s owner, Zubair Dastagir, was given a penalty of £80,000 on 9 January this year. This was later reduced to £40,000 following an appeal, and a second appeal is currently ongoing in civil court.
The licensing committee revoked the premises licence on the grounds that it was not upholding the prevention of crime and disorder objective. In its decision, the committee said: “The employment of illegal workers disregards the law, places those illegal workers at increased vulnerability and acts to the detriment of other businesses and the wider community.”
It was also told that the licence was suspended as payment had not been made to renew it despite reminders being issued.
Russell Angel, from Home Office Immigration Enforcement, said: “The ability to work illegally is a key driver of illegal migration. It encourages people to take risks in trying to enter the UK illegally… leaving them vulnerable to exploitative employers.”
He added that illegal working can be linked to “tax evasion, breach of the national minimum wage, and exploitative working conditions.”
Zubair Dastagir was represented by Brendan Herbert of Lacey’s solicitors, who argued it would be “unreasonable and disproportionate” to revoke the licence.
When asked about suggestions that workers had received food as payment, he said this was not accepted, explaining that one worker was training and had been allowed to take food home rather than waste it.
