The owner of a popular Indian restaurant was let off with a warning after three men were found to be illegally working at his premises.

The three men were found to be illegally working at the award-winning Whitecroft restaurant in Oswaldtwistle after a visit by immigration officers.

Hyndburn Council’s licensing sub-committee met to review the premises licence of Whitecroft Indian Bar and Restaurant in Oswaldtwistle.

Home office inspection

It comes after an inspection was carried out by the Home Office, on September 21, which found that three members of staff – two Bangladeshis and a Sudanese – were not permitted to work legally at the restaurant, owned by Rihibur Rahman.

If the licence had been revoked, Mr Rahman would not have been able to sell alcohol at the restaurant.

PA stock image of a UK passport

Members heard it had a turnover of about £6,000 per week, with 40 per cent of that made through alcohol sales.

Mr Rahman said if the premises licence was revoked, the restaurant would no longer be financially viable and it would have to close down.

Representing Mr Rahman, Nick Dearing, of Donald Race and Newton solicitors, said his client recognised the seriousness of the situation.

The Haslingden Old Road restaurant, which was awarded the title of Best Restaurant for Lancashire at the British Curry Life Awards 2018 in October, caters for up to 100 people and operates with eight full-time employees.

The visit from immigration officers found three of Mr Rahman’s workers were not entitled to work in the UK.

False documents:

One of the employees, Bangladeshi national Habibur Rahman, had provided false documents in relation to his identity.

The chef, who had worked at the restaurant for two months and occasionaly stayed at a flat above the restaurant, supplied a false passport and fake national insurance details to the company when he started.

The other two employees, Mohammed Miah and Mohammed Abdullah, were entitled to be in the UK but had no right to be in employment.

Mr Dearing said Mr Rahman had since taken steps to ensure all his employees had the right to work in the UK and would be installing a UV checking machine to make sure all passports were real.

He added: “Mr Rahman is genuinely committed to making sure this mistake is never repeated.

“These were men working on a casual basis. He now refuses to allow anyone to work at the premises until he has seen their documentation.”

Committee chairman, Cllr Tim O’Kane, said: “We appreciate the fact that you have been honest with us and accepted that it is a very serious offence.

“The men who were working illegally have been dealt with and we did not feel it fair on the other employees of Whitecroft to take the blanket decision to revoke the premises licence, which would punish these people as well.

“We will be keeping an eye on you and wish you well with your business.”