Udaya Restaurant on Katherine Road in East Ham lost its premises licence for three months after Home Office officers found employees reporting pay well below the minimum wage and being provided with food and accommodation. Four of seven employees met by officers were found to be working illegally. The venue had previously been fined £180,000 after employing four people without the right to work. At a licensing sub-committee hearing the licence holder admitted limited time to manage and train staff and accepted changes would be needed. An MP supported the owner, who warned licence revocation could force permanent closure. The panel imposed rigorous additional licence conditions.
The Home Office asked Newham Council to revoke Udaya Restaurant's licence after visiting its premises on Katherine Road in June 2024. It said that some of the employees told its officers they were getting paid well below the minimum wage and several stated they were provided with food and accommodation. The Home Office said four of the seven employees it met were working illegally.
Minutes say the licence holder told them he was not able to give the business the appropriate amount of time due to his busy schedule and was unable to train staff. However he said he understood that changes would have to be made and that he personally would have to give more time to the business. Labour's Newham North East MP Stephen Timms also wrote to the panel in support of the owner, Parjeesh Kumar.
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