M&S Car Wash on Arbury Road was raided by the Home Office
M&S Car Wash was fined by the Home Office(Image: Pexels)
A Nuneaton business that employed an Afghan migrant illegally has been fined by the Home Office. M&S Car Wash was targeted in a major operation aimed at tackling illegal working in the Midlands.
Unlawful employment practices have become more widespread as the number of undocumented migrants in the UK grows. Many seek jobs where official documentation is not required, making it easier for them to work without legal status.
As part of a broader crackdown on illegal working, the Home Office has increased penalties to £45,000. Raids have also been intensified across Coventry and Warwickshire.
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Officials raided M&S Car Wash on Arbury Road in Nuneaton on December 19. An Afghan man was arrested for working illegally, and the company was subsequently fined £135,000.
Businesses across the Midlands have been penalised by the Home Office in an effort to curb illegal working. As previously reported by CoventryLive, Malancha Indian Restaurant on Daventry Road in Rugby was fined £40,000.
Diamond Off Licence in Erdington and Stockfield Tyres Limited in Acocks Green were each slapped with a £40,000 penalty by the Home Office. Drinks 2 Go in Erdington was ordered to pay £45,000.
A spokesman for the Home Office said: “Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages and fuels organised immigration crime. We will not stand for it.
“Since coming to power, enforcement action nationwide has increased, with a 63 per cent rise in illegal working arrests, and we will be stepping up that action further in the year ahead.”
In a warning to those employing illegal workers, they said: “You can be sent to jail for five years and have to pay an unlimited fine if you are found guilty of employing someone who you knew or had reasonable cause to believe did not have the right to work in the UK.”
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