A Darlington restaurant fined £90,000 for employing illegal workers is facing a licensing review.
Immigration officers raided the Oak Tree Inn, Middleton St George, last December and found four people working there illegally.
The Home Office said three of the four people did not hold the right to work, while the other was working in breach of conditions.
Darlington Borough Council will consider the future of the Yarm Road venue’s alcohol licence at a meeting on Thursday (September 11).
The previous operators were issued a £90,000 fine earlier this year for employing two people who did not have the right to work. Bailiffs have reportedly been sent to collect the fine.
A premises licence report said one of the workers tried to run from the kitchen when officers arrived, while another “attempted to walk away”.
Ersim Aydin, who was in charge of employing staff, told officers: “I don’t normally ask for ID, I do ask if they’re okay to work and nine out of ten I go with what they say.”Concerns were also raised over wages after one worker said he was paid £300 in cash a week, which would equate to £7.14 per hour based on the time he worked, more than £4 less than the national minimum wage at the time.
The venue’s owner, Punch Pubs, confirmed it has since closed after Ms Aydin, who operated the venue under a tenancy agreement, left her role.
A spokesperson said: “As a valued part of both our estate and the Darlington community, ensuring the pub’s long-term future is our top priority. We are continuing to work with licensing authorities and hope to provide an update to the community soon.”
Representatives from Punch Pubs have been invited to attend the licensing hearing.
Responding after the licensing review was announced, Ms Aydin said: “To Darlington Council, the brewery, the community: I am so sorry if I’ve ever caused distress. That was never my intention. I tried to belong.
“I took over a pub not to take anything away but to build something for everyone. If I failed, then I carry that failure with pain. Because I tried. I really, really tried.
“I gave all of myself to the pub and the people in it. I never treated anyone like an employee or a customer – I treated them like family. Like human beings.
“I gave everything I could, whether it was time, support, a meal, a kind word. I just wanted people to feel like they mattered. “To everyone who supported me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Source: Darlington & Stockton Times
