Cumbrian business fined for hiring illegal workers
A Cumbrian business has been fined £45,000 for hiring illegal workers.
Mits Management Limited was given the large fine by the government for the breach.
It has been included in the latest round of businesses which have been named and shamed for the practice, all of which were fined from October to December last year.
The business, which is based at 38 Market Street in Kirkby Stephen, is said to have an active proposal to strike off on the Companies House website.
The address is the same as the Black Bull in the market town, although it is unclear whether or not Mits Management currently runs the premises.
The company was incorporated on July 3, 2023, with the nature of the business listed as being under ‘public houses and bars’.
It had previously been registered as being in Chesterfield in Derbyshire, but the registered office address was changed to Kirkby Stephen in April 2024.
A confirmation statement has been overdue since July 17 last year.
But on August 19 last year, an application was made to strike the company off the register, signed by directors Konstantina Mitsouli and Daria Maria Zygmanska.
A notice of the voluntary strike-off appeared in the First Gazette on August 26.
But on October 29, the voluntary strike-off was suspended after the registrar received an ‘objection’ – the details of the objection have not been listed on Companies House.
The company also has overdue accounts which were due on April 30 this year, according to the government website.
The government website says: “You can be sent to jail for five years and have to 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 the owner 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; or their papers were incorrect or false.
Businesses can also be penalised for employing someone who does not have the right to work, and “not doing the correct checks or letting the employee do them properly”.
If this happens, employers might get a ‘referral notice’ to let them know their case is being considered and that they might have to pay a fine of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker.
Businesses’ details may be published by Immigration Enforcement as a warning to other businesses not to employ illegal workers.