Company director disqualified for employing illegal workers
THE director of a Coventry clothing company has been disqualified from acting as a company director for six years for employing seven workers who were not eligible to work in the UK.
Ajay Dewitt, aged 29, from Bedworth, was the director of Mystique Coventry Ltd, a company based on the Westwood Business Park in Coventry, trading as a clothing wholesaler.
On November 15 2016 Home Office Immigration Enforcement Officers discovered the company was employing seven workers who were not eligible to work in the UK.
The company went into liquidation on March 16 this year owing £74,394 to creditors, which included a £70,000 penalty imposed by the Home Office Immigration and Enforcement for employing illegal workers.
Martin Gitner, deputy head of investigations with the Insolvency Service, said: “Illegal workers are not protected under employment law, and as well as cheating legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities these employers defraud the tax payer and undercut honest competitors.
“The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, makes employers responsible for preventing illegal workers in the UK. To comply with the law, a company must check and be able to prove documents have been checked prior to recruitment that show a person is entitled to work.”
Mr Gitner added: “The public has a right to expect that those who break the law will face the consequences and this should serve as a warning to other directors tempted to take on illegal staff.”