The owners of Wood Oven BBQ and Pizzeria, in George Lane, will go before Redbridge Council’s licensing committee next week for a review.
In documents submitted to the council, the Home Office said three employees – all women from Bulgaria – were working there illegally.
They were each working a few hours a week and were paid in cash, the Home Office said. None of the EU citizens have the right to live or work in the UK, the officers alleged.
The operators were slapped with a £120,000 fine in January, and have been paying off the six-figure penalty in instalments.
In a formal bid to the council, the Home Office requested the business’ licence be revoked.
Ahead of the review, more than 400 letters in support of the business were submitted to the council.
Each one is identical and praises the venue as an “outstanding restaurant” and the owner, Ahmet Nam, as a “highly respectful and responsible operator of Wood Oven”.
They have asked the committee to accept that the employment of the EU workers “was a mistake and not due to any intention to break the law”.
The letter says that, in “fairness” to Nam, there was a “lot of confusion about the employment of people from EU countries following Brexit” and “little information” was provided by the government.
It goes on to say: “The hospitality trade has had a difficult time espec¡ally with the effects of Brexit and loss of staff from EU countries, the [2020/21 Covid-19] pandemic with its closures and other restrictions, high energy costs together with the rise in minimum wage and National lnsurance costs.”
Punishing the business could lead to its closure, which will lead to “innocent staff losing their jobs and another closed shop”.
There are no other breaches of the Wood Oven’s premises licence on record.
Each of the 416 letters is signed by an individual patron.
A committee of elected Redbridge councillors will determine the restaurant’s future on 21 October.
