Illegal workers bring licence for Willenhall pizza joint under review
Immigration officers found two illegal workers on a visit to Pizza Pan on Walsall Road in August last year.
A Willenhall pizza joint fined £45,000 by the Home Office is having its licence reviewed later this week.
Immigration officers found two illegal workers on a visit to Pizza Pan on Walsall Road in August last year.
Two female workers, both from India, were arrested and a penalty of £45,000 was issued to Naseem Mohammed.
The Home Office said one of the workers entered the UK on a student visa which was due to expire in October 2026. But after her sponsorship was withdrawn her student visa lapsed in March 2025 instead.
The second worker, an in-law of the owner, claimed that in exchange for her eight hours a week at the takeaway, food was occasionally brought to her.
She also entered the country on a student visa which was valid from September 2020 until February 2022. The worker had made claims for protection which were rejected in February, and August 2024.
The Home Office said it is a ‘simple process’ for an employer to carry out right-to-work checks and have called on Walsall Council to revoke the premises licence.
It said remedying the existing situation only would be insufficient to act as a deterrent to the licence holder or others from engaging in the criminal activity.
West Midlands Police said it had ‘significant concerns’ as to how the venue was being operated and also called for the licence to be revoked.
Licensing officer for the force, Elizabeth Cope, said: “The employment of illegal workers is considered a serious crime, often linked to exploitation, modern slavery, money laundering, tax evasion and organised crime groups.
“The employment of illegal workers at Pizza Pan clearly shows a total disregard for the law and clearly undermines the Crime & Disorder objective of the Licensing Act 2003.”
Last month licence holder, Kamran Gulzar, submitted a notice to Walsall Council to surrender the premises licence.
Members of the licensing sub-committee will make a decision at a meeting on Friday, June 12.
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