Immigration enforcement officers have targeted a café in the heart of tourist York.
Accompanied by police, the team from the Home Office went to Shambles Korner on Newgate on Wednesday afternoon.
One man has been arrested. But the café owners say they are confident they have done nothing wrong.
Witnesses said they saw officers enter the café at around 4pm.
The Home Office told YorkMix that a Bangladeshi male was arrested on suspicion of working in breach of his visa conditions as a result of the operation.
The Shambles Korner owners were served with a Civil Penalty Referral Notice. This doesn’t mean they have necessarily done anything wrong, but that further inquiries to establish any liability and who is the liable employer will now take place.
“The liable employer could face a substantial fine if it’s found they employed illegal workers and failed to conduct relevant pre-employment checks,” a Home Office spokesperson said.
The Home Office civil penalty compliance team will review the evidence provided before deciding whether to issue a Civil Penalty Notice.
Such notices include a fine of up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach and up to a maximum of £60,000 for repeat offending.
Co-owner of Shambles Korner Zehan Chowdhury told YorkMix that both the staff and the business are confident no breach in visa working conditions has taken place, “and the matter will simply follow the normal review process”.
He said they were compliant and had fully cooperated with the investigation, adding: “We are committed to getting everything right, and even hope to use this experience to help other small businesses understand proper employment checks.”
The Home Office spokesperson told YorkMix: “Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages and fuels organised immigration crime.
“The British public will not stand for it and neither will this government.
“Since coming to power, enforcement action nationwide has increased, with 63% rise in illegal working arrests, and we will be stepping up that action further in the year ahead.”
Shambles Korner opened in February last year in the building that was home to Henshelwoods Deli for many years.
It serves breakfasts, lunches and light bites, and is popular with those visiting Shambles and the market.
Immigration officers have been targeting York tourist businesses in recent months. YorkMix understands that the nearby York Vikings gift shop, on Shambles, was visited by immigration enforcement on 15 October.
However, in this case, there were no arrests made and no action taken against the owners.
