Shopkeeper loses licence over illegal workers
The hearing was held at West Lindsey District Council offices in Gainsborough
- Published
A shop owner who has 52 stores across the country has lost his licence after police repeatedly found illegal employees working on his premises.
Police visited a store in Caistor owned by Arumugam Kalamohan and spoke to an illegal worker who said he was being paid £6 an hour.
A licensing hearing at West Lindsey District Council on Friday decided the only option was to revoke Mr Kalamohan's licence.
Sgt Amy Adams, of Lincolnshire Police's licensing team, said Mr Kalamohan had a "long history of non-compliance," with illegal workers found at his stores in Grantham in 2018 and Stamford in 2020.
Mr Kalamohan told the hearing through an interpreter that he only visited his Today's Extra shop in Caistor once a week and relied on staff to oversee it.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, his legal representatives claimed that the illegal worker was a customer in the shop and was not working.
Police told the hearing that he was found standing behind the counter, wearing the shop's uniform and operating the till.
Officers said the man told police he was paid £6 per hour in cash, which is less than half of minimum wage, but they said a letter was later sent retracting the statement.
Police said the shop also did not meet the licensing requirements for maintaining CCTV or training staff.
'Total disregard for the law'
Sgt Adams said: "The licence holder owns many shops. With his experience, he should know legislation inside and out.
"We feel there is a total disregard for the law, and he continues to employ illegal workers."
A recent report commissioned by the applicant found that everyone at the Caistor shop now had the right to work in the UK legally.
Ben Williams, representing Mr Kalamohan, told the hearing: "He's not some gangmaster shipping in illegal immigrants and misusing them in his shops.
"He is extremely experienced, and accepts he should have known better."
He added: "You can't get compliance perfect across 52 shops."
The panel unanimously decided to revoke the licence. Mr Kalamohan has 21 days to appeal.
Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here, external.
Download the BBC News app from the App Store, external for iPhone and iPad or Google Play, external for Android devices