Hothouse Café Licence Revoked for Employing Illegal Workers

Owner says loss of revenue could force closure

The Hothouse on Chiswick High Road. Picture: Instagram

February 13, 2024

The borough Licensing Panel has decided to revoke the premises licence of the Hothouse Café on Chiswick High Road after it was found to have employed illegal workers on multiple occasions.

The venue on 448 Chiswick High Road had been fined twice over the last five years after being raided by Home Office investigators who found people who were not entitled to work in the UK.

The Home Office, which had made the application for the licence to be removed, sent three immigration officers to the hearing which was held on Tuesday 6 February, and managed to persuade the councillors to end the café’s ability to serve alcohol.

The owner, Mr Samy Amer, says that the music evenings held regularly at the Hothouse were critical for the business’s survival and, without them, it was almost certain it would have to close.

He had claimed that he employed the person found during the raid on 15 June last year in good faith but was unable to find the documentation which he had been provided. He said that he had been suffering with Covid when the Algerian man was taken on and was distracted by his financial difficulties which included having to remortgage his house to pay a £40,000 fine levied in 2019 when he was previously caught employing illegal migrant labour.

He denied that any of the staff he employed either in 2019 or 2023 were paid below the minimum wage saying that the Home Office had worked out the hourly rate assuming that staff were working full-time and in fact he paid 50% above the minimum wage in order to retain people. He claimed that he had always obtained National Insurance (NI) numbers from his workers and believed that this was an indication that they had a right to work in the UK. The immigration officers pointed out that possession of an NI number does automatically give someone the right to work if their stay in the UK is limited.

The immigration officers accused him of being aggressive during the most recent visit, filming them on his phone and raising his voice. They told the panel that they do not target specific business but operate on an intelligence-led basis acting on information received. They believed that the Hothouse was operating a two-tier employment system with front-of-house staff legally employed but kitchen staff recruited from those not permitted to work in the UK.

The venue received over 20 messages of support for the continuation of its licence and the Panel acknowledged that it was valued by the community but noted that most of the submissions seemed to assume it was a routine licence renewal and were unaware of the issues being raised by the Home Office.

Mr Amer was represented at the hearing by his solicitor, Jon Payne, who was requesting that the licence be renewed with conditions including more robust checks on the documentation provided by staff adding that Mr Amer had already implemented measures to prevent a recurrence. He disputed the claim by the immigration officers that Mr Amer had acted in an intimidating manner arguing that rather he had requested the interview be held at the rear of the premises to avoid interfering with customers in the café and the officer had refused.

The Panel, chaired by Chiswick councillor Amy Croft, asked the immigration officers why they didn’t request a review in 2019 when the offences were much more serious and why they had waited six months to request this time. They replied that they thought the fine was sufficient for a first offence as the business was struggling and it would act as a deterrent. The delay in requesting the review was down to staffing issues and the need to collate evidence.

It was concluded that the representations and evidence provide by Mr Amer did not support his claims. Although , the Panel recognised the financial position of the business, this could not be a justification for a breach of the licensing objectives by employing and potentially exploiting illegal workers. It decided that there had been significant and repeated breaches of the council’s Licensing Policy and therefore it was decided to revoke.