A Balti restaurant in Hayle has been fined thousands of pounds for having employed an illegal worker.

The Balti King at 53 Fore Street, Hayle owned by Balti Tandoori Restaurant Limited has been fined £15,000 according to the latest report by the Government.

The businesses have been listed in the Government's quarterly round-up of companies that have had penalties issued and were found to have employed illegal workers.

However the manager of the restaurant told the Packet that the incident had all been a big misunderstanding and the worker taken away by immigration had permission to work in the country for three months.

He said the company that had employed him and sent him to work for the restaurant had contacted immigration explaining the situation and he had been released and was now working elsewhere in the country.

“He only started with us two weeks before the immigration officer took him,” he said. “His company sent them all the paperwork and they released him.”

He denied that his restaurant had been fined £15,000 and would be a mistake to say so as he had not received any notification of any fine and the case was still being considered.

The Balti King Indian restaurant was established for over ten years in Hayle saying it serves the best quality Indian and Bangladeshi food, in a contemporary atmosphere.

According to the Home Office, employers can be sent to prison for five years and pay an unlimited fine if they're found guilty of employing individuals who they know or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ did not have the right to work in the UK.

Employers can also be penalised if they employ someone who does not have the right to work and they did not do the correct checks, or they did not do those checks properly.