Takeaway and shop fined over illegal workers

Papa Gino's in Birkenhead was fined £45,000 over employing illegal workers

A takeaway and a shop said by the Home Office to be employing illegal workers have been fined a total of £85,000.

Papa Gino's on Grange Mount, Birkenhead, and the Day Choice Convenience Store on Pasture Road in Moreton, are now having their licences reviewed by Wirral Council.

Both reviews are "in relation to the premises employing individuals who are not entitled to work in the UK".

The takeaway was fined £45,000 and the convenience store was given a £40,000 penalty.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, immigration enforcement teams went to Papa Gino's in December 2024 after receiving intelligence about illegal workers.

They went to the shop in September 2024 and arrested a man for breach of bail because he had no permission to work in the UK.

The convenience store in Pasture Road, Moreton, was fined £40,000

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages, and fuels the criminal industry of immigration crime. This government is determined to clamp down on that illegal activity in every sector where it occurs, including retailers.

"Under this government, enforcement action nationwide has increased, with visits and arrests up by around 50% on the previous twelve months, and we will be stepping up that action further in the year ahead."

Six businesses in Wirral were fined by the UK Government between January and March 2025.

They were fined a total of £255,000.