Seven business across the county have been named and shamed for employing illegal workers and three of them are in East Lancashire.

East Lancashire businesses have been fined a combined £40,000 this year, after they were found to be employing illegal workers.

Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry said the government is “working to prevent the abuse of our laws and borders”.

The businesses have been listed in the government’s round-up of companies that have had penalties issued for the use of illegal workers, which is updated every three months.

The 27 business on the north west list have been fined between £10,000 and £45,000.

Darwen Mobiles, in Duckworth Street, in the town was fined £15,000.

Mediterranean eatery Spaghetti Della Casa, in Blackburn Road, Haslingden, was handed a £10,000 fine.

Musto’s Barber, in Chatburn Road, Clitheroe, was fined £15,000.

Each of the businesses was contacted for comment but none replied.

Responding to the latest publication of companies employing illegal workers, former Conservative party chair Jake Berry said: “Illegal working damages our communities, cheats honest workers out of employment and defrauds the public purse.

“As the Prime Minister has set out, the Government is committed to going further and faster to prevent the abuse of our laws and borders.”

Full list of Lancashire businesses fined for employing illegal workers this year

  • Kurdish Barber, 8 Burscough Street, Ormskirk
    Fined: £10,000.00
    Liable party: 11084216 Ltd
     
  • Kurdish Barber Shop, 27 New Hall Lane, Preston
    Fined: £10,000
    Liable party: Ali Hadi Ali
     
  • Preston Mini Market, 13 Manchester Road, Preston
    Fined: £15,000
    Liable party: Ali Izad
     
  • Crispy Fried, 310 Leyland Lane, Leyland
    Fined: £10,000
    Liable party: Crispy Fried Leyland Ltd
     
  • Darwen Mobiles, 155 Duckworth Street, Darwen
    Fined: £15,000
    Liable party: Habibullah Haji
     
  • Spaghetti Della Casa, 24 Blackburn Road, Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancashire
    Fined: £10,000
    Liable party: Maya49 Limited
     
  • Musto’s Barbers, 1 Chatburn Road, Clitheroe
    Fined: £15,000
    Liable party: Mustafa Bagg

You can be sent to jail for five years and pay an unlimited fine if you’re found guilty of employing someone who you knew or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ did not have the right to work in the UK.

This includes, for example, if you had any reason to believe that:

  • they did not have leave (permission) to enter or remain in the UK
  • their leave had expired
  • they were not allowed to do certain types of work
  • their papers were incorrect or false

You can also be penalised if you employ someone who does not have the right to work and you did not do the correct checks, or you did not do them properly.

If this happens, you might get a ‘referral notice’ to let you know your case is being considered and that you might have to pay a civil penalty (fine) of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker.

You’ll be sent a ‘civil penalty notice’ if you’re found liable and you’ll have 28 days to respond.

The notice will tell you how to pay, what to do next, and how to object to the decision.

Your business’s details may be published by Immigration Enforcement as a warning to other businesses not to employ illegal workers.