Firm hit with five-figure Home Office fine after immigration officers visit Kettering shop

A firm has been handed a £15,000 fine after failing to check that a Kettering shop employee had the right to work in the UK.

Europe Plus Ltd was issued the civil penalty by the Home Office after immigration officers visited Europe Plus last year.

They turned up at the Montagu Street store on October 18 to investigate whether illegal working was taking place after receiving a tip-off.

A Home Office spokesman said no arrests were made during their visit to the shop.

But the spokesman said the manager admitted to officers that he did not complete the full checks or any follow-up checks to confirm the right to work for a male found working behind the counter.

A civil penalty notice of potential liability was then served upon the employer as no right to work checks had been completed or recorded for the staff member.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Illegal working causes untold harm to our communities, cheating honest workers out of employment, putting vulnerable people at risk, and defrauding the public purse.

“Illegal working visits are up by more than 50 per cent on last year and arrests have more than doubled, with more people arrested in 2023 than during the whole of 2022 as a result of this activity.

"We are also removing those with no right to be in the UK.”

Europe Plus declined to comment when visited by the Northants Telegraph.