High Road Café Faces Loss of Licence Due to Illegal Workers

Home Office asking for The Hothouse's ability to sell alcohol to be revoked

The Hothouse on Chiswick High Road. Picture: Instagram

January 31, 2024

Customers of a popular café on Chiswick High Road have rallied to support it as it faces a loss of its licence.

The Hothouse at 448 Chiswick High Road operates as a café during the day with a menu including Egyptian cuisine and, in the evening, opens for music nights and Karaoke.

On15 June of last year, immigration officers visited the premises and found that one of the staff had no right to work in the UK and had been employed on an illegal basis. The owner, Samy Amer was fined but, as this followed a previous case in 2019 when four people working at the café were found to have been employed illegally, the Home Office is now asking Hounslow Council’s Licensing Panel to revoke his alcohol licence at a meeting due to take place on Tuesday 6 February.

Mr Amer, backed up by a statement from his accountant, says that the loss of the licence would mean his business would have to close as most of his turnover is generated by evening events.

When the immigration officers visited last year, they noticed one of the employees, who was wearing a uniform, was acting nervously with shaking hands and avoiding eye contact. He attempted to leave the premises but was stopped by the officers.

When his details were checked it showed he was from Algeria and had an outstanding appeal to stay in the country but no right to work. He was escorted off the premises for an interview at which he said he had been employed at the premises since it reopened after Covid helping out as a chef at weekends and a few days during the week being paid by cash or bank transfer but paying no tax or National Insurance. He said Mr Amer was his friend who he had known for a long time but he wasn’t aware that he had no right to work in the UK. Another member of staff questioned by the officers turned out to be employed legitimately.

The officers said in their statement that Mr Amer attempted to interrupt the interview and advised his employee not to speak to them describing his behaviour as aggressive and disruptive. When asked about the man, Mr Amer said he believed he had been shown paperwork indicating that they were a French national who had a right to work in the UK, but he was unable to produce and documentation.

Mr Amer was issued with a civil penalty of £15,000 which he has paid in full.

At a previous visit to the premises back in September 2019, immigration officers had discovered four members of staff who were not entitled to work in the UK. One waitress said that she worked for six days a week for eight hours being paid £220 a week, effectively half the minimum wage although Mr Amer said she was employed for only 20 hours a week and he was unaware she had no right to work in the UK. After consulting with his solicitor, he declined to answer any further questions from the officers. After this visit he received a fine of £40,000 which he paid after an appeal.

In their report on the case the immigration officers state, “Hothouse Cafe under the management of Samy Amer has been found employing illegal workers in both visits conducted. This business has clearly failed to meet the prevention of crime and disorder objective. The license holder would have been aware of their responsibilities to uphold the licensing objectives as they are clearly defined as part of the premises license application.

“The use of illegal labour provides an unfair competitive edge and deprives the UK economy of tax revenue. Illegal workers are often paid below the minimum wage (itself an offence) and National Insurance payments are not paid. In this case the employer has been paying his employees at a rate which is below the national minimum wage. In one employee’s case, she worked 6 days a week, 8 hours a day (48 hours) and was paid £220 per week. This works out to £4.58 per hour. A key draw for illegal immigration is work and low-skilled migrants are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation by criminal enterprises; finding themselves in sub-standard accommodation and toiling in poor working conditions for long hours for remuneration below the National Minimum Wage.”

Despite the evidence presented by the Home Office, regular customers of The Hot House have rallied to its support saying that the venue is a valued community asset.

One customer wrote in support saying, “I am a valued member of a medical team working within the NHS, when I moved to Chiswick for my position last year from Ireland, I knew no-one when I first landed and I am forever grateful to the community of responsible and supportive individuals that I have met at the Hothouse. We have a thriving community of singers/musicians who are developing skills and talent and supporting each other, through a very difficult climate. Let me be clear. The Hothouse is vital in supporting the
mental health of many of the wider community within your borough of Hounslow.”

Another said, “I have known the proprietor, Samy Amer for many years, and before my retirement and when running the Hammersmith & Fulham Volunteer Centre, and delivering the Personnel Best Programme in Hounslow, Samy was there helping me with our Volunteer placements. We were able to train over 35 volunteers through his establishment to engaging and getting unemployed, vulnerable, African- Caribbean, Asian and East European Youths out of crime and off the streets. The young volunteers aspired to have a profession in the Entertainments and Catering Industry. Samy and the Hothouse came to our help and to the youth in need of that support. They were trained, got certificates and went out in the world to get jobs.

“He has also been involved in other corporate responsibility projects in Hounslow with the Disney Corporation through our organisation. We are indebted to him for his support of the voluntary and community sectors in Hounslow.”

The accountants for The Hothouse said that, in their view, the company has not been doing well over the last 2 years due to an increase in overheads and the cancellation of the licence was likely to lead to closure and loss of employment for staff.

Chiswick Gunnersbury ward councillor Joanna Biddolph made a representation to the Panel sying, “I have never had any indications of illegal working at Hothouse Cafe. I know the owner has some longstanding staff who have always appeared loyal and respectful of him and his business. Although all hospitality businesses also experience staff turnover, I have not had any concerns about illegal workers here. This notice was, therefore, a surprise.

“I understand from the owner that it was a surprise to him, too. He had an application from someone whose documents (such as passport and visa) later turned out to be fake. When he discovered this, he paid the fine immediately, recognising the seriousness of the situation and wanting to rectify it. I understand he now has more robust systems in place to check the legality of potential employees.”

However, subsequently she said, "I made my comment without having read the Home Office report in full. I had not received a review such as this before - as I said in my comment of 20th December it was a first for me - and did not know what to expect. I realise not reading the report in full is an error and an embarrassing one. I was shocked and visited the licensee wanting to know the background. On 22nd January, on receiving the papers for the panel hearing, I read the Home Office review and immediately wrote to the licensing department to say that I was reviewing my position. Later that day I said the Home Office report changed my position. I spoke to, then messaged and emailed, the licensee to say that I could not support him. That remains my position.

"As a fellow human being, I remain concerned for the licensee’s mental health and his future and have contacted him a couple of times to see how he is. This is entirely separate from the fact that I cannot support his behaviour as outlined by the Home Office."

Three Hounslow councillors on the Panel chaired by Chiswick Riverside councillor Amy Croft will decide the venue’s fate on Tuesday 6 February.