18 companies in the North East have been fined for employing illegal workers

The companies were listed in the government’s quarterly overview of companies fined for using illegal workers.

According to the data, which is updated every three months, the 18 companies caught were fined between £10,000 and £60,000.

The Interior Ministry publicly publishes the data four times a year. The latest data covers the period October to December 2022 and January to March 2023.

The following companies were fined for employing illegal workers:

• Hetton-Le-Hole Hand Car Wash & Valeting Centre, Station Road, Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton le Spring, County Durham – £10,000 fine
• Bubbles Car Wash, Walton Terrace, Guisborough – fined £60,000
• Caesar Chester Dine Takeaway Ltd, 179 Chester Road, Sunderland – fined £15,000
• EU Supermarket, 30 Newborough, Scarborough – fined £20,000
• Ashington Barbers, Ashington – Fined £15,000
• Jordy Chicken, 99 High Street West, Wallsend – Fined £30,000
• M & A Mini Market, 35a Station Road, Ashington – fined £15,000
• A supermarket, Poplar Buildings, Woodhorn Road, Ashington, was fined £15,000
• The Yellow Dragon, Sacriston Lane, Witton Gilbert fined £30,000
• The Wynd Barber Shop (Express Saloon Ltd), 2A Danby Wynd, Yarm, TS15 9SF – Fined £10,000
• Lifestyle Express Thorndale Convenience Store (J & N PVT Ltd), Thorndale Road, Sunderland, SR3 4JR – Fined £10,000
• Fortune Palace (Juan Ying Zheng), 8 Hope Street, Crook, Durham, DL15 9HS – Fined £20,000
• Swalwell Car Wash (Nozad Yassin Farag), Sands Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE16 3DJ – Fined £15,000
• Royal Chef (Nrc (St Helen) Ltd), 53 Manor Road, St Helen Auckland, Bishop Auckland, DL14 9ER – Fined £10,000
• Pizza Rio (Pizza Rio Ltd), 11 Lombard Place, Front Street, Chester-le-Street, Durham, DH3 4QP – Fined £10,000
• Super Hand Carwash (RM Car Wash Ltd), 2 Longlands Road, Middlesbrough, TS4 2JL – fined £10,000
• Rose & Lime Indian Restaurant (Rose & Lime Ltd), 24-26 Bondgate, Darlington, DL3 7JJ – Fined £10,000
• The Restory Ltd, Gosforth Park Avenue, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE12 8EG – Fined £15,000

According to the government, severe penalties can be imposed for employing people who do not have the right to work.

Gov.uk says: “You can be sentenced to five years in prison and an unlimited fine if you are found guilty of employing someone you knew or had “reasonable grounds to believe” did not have the right had to work in the United Kingdom.

This includes, for example, if you had reason to believe that:

• They did not have permission to enter or remain in the UK
• Her vacation was over
• They were not allowed to do certain jobs
• Their papers were false or false