A Turkish restaurant in Chatteris has lost its licence after it employed three illegal workers. 

Pera Palace in Chatteris, which has been running since 2019, was visited by the East of England Immigration Compliance and Enforcement team in November last year after intelligence was received that the business was employing illegal workers. 

The restaurant was hit with a civil penalty of £45,000 in January this year. 

In a report to Fenland District Council, Home Office officials said one worker had attempted to run away during the inspection, that another appeared nervous when they arrived and a third disappeared and returned to the kitchen. 

The Home Office called for the premises on Market Hill to lose its licence, and that decision was agreed during a Licencing Meeting by FDC yesterday (March 9). 

Prior to the meeting, the Home Office sent a report to FDC which said: “Pera Palace under the control of Ali Avrik and the Designated Premises Supervisor Hasan Ates have been found employing three illegal workers. 

“This business has clearly failed to meet the prevention of crime and disorder objective by failing to carry out the necessary preemployment checks to make sure that the people employed at the premises have the right to work in the UK. 

"The licence holder would have been aware of their responsibilities to uphold the licensing objectives as they are clearly defined as part of the premises licence application, i.e. the right to work checks and keeping records for audit purposes. Hupus Ltd who are considered the liable party have been issued a civil penalty of £45,000." 

The report added: “Immigration Enforcement asks that the premises licence is revoked.  

“Merely remedying the existing situation (for instance by the imposition of additional conditions or a suspension) is insufficient to act as a deterrent to the licence holder and other premises’ licence holders from engaging in criminal activity by employing illegal workers and facilitating disqualified immigrants to work illegally." 

In FDC’s meeting, it was stated by licencing officer for the local authority, Michelle Bishop, that “in accordance with Section 182 guidance which is part of the Licencing Act 2003, points 11.27 and 11.28 state that criminal activity of this nature should be treated particularly seriously, and revocation should be considered even in the first instance”. 

Paul Phillips, Home Office Immigration enforcement officer who attended the meeting, said that Pera Palace has “quite blatantly overlooked immigration laws and employment checks that are required to be done” and have “failed to do anything within the licence that they are required to do to actually bring those people into their establishment of work.” 

He added: “Three people we encountered were subject to immigration control. I believe that one was an asylum seeker, the other one was on an ECA Visa which stipulates very clearly, he was only allowed to work within the plumbing industry, and he was breaching that, and the other gentlemen, was within the MG11 as well.” 

Mr Phillips added that the workers were “100 per cent working illegally with no right to work in the United Kingdom.” 

However, Ali Avrik and Hasan Ates denied having illegal workers at the premises. 

Ates, who has held the current licence on Pera Palace since September 2022, said: “This company has been running since 2019 and there has never ever been such activity happening inside the company like that. It’s never happened, and it will never happen. 

“We’ve never had a licencing issue before and have a five-star review on health and safety from the council.” 

Both Atez and Avrik agreed that paperwork has been missing which they should have complied with, and that there are things they have learnt from this “in case of another visit”.  

They added that all paperwork is now “up to date and filed inside the restaurant”. 

On behalf of the company, Ates apologised for the mistakes made but said “there is always a chance to prove ourselves”. 

Atez and Averik were told at the meeting by Cllr Michael Humphrey, chair of the meeting that the public perception of the restaurant, along with five-star reviews is in this instance “irrelevant” and “carries very little weight in the determination we will be making”. 

He said while talking to Atez: “While I appreciate there was a misunderstanding, clearly as licence holder, it is your responsibility [of who you employ] and the fact that criminal activity objective of crime and disorder was breached while you were licence holder, you take that responsibility on.” 

After deliberation, the licensing committee agreed to revoke Pera Palace’s licence “in its entirety”. 

Cllr Humphreys said: “This committee cannot go behind the decision of the Home Office officers, and we must accept the facts put before us.” 

Retaurant manager at the Pera Palace restaurant, Hasan Ates, told the Cambs Times after the meeting: "Our premises license has been revoked but we will appeal and take the matter to the High Court.

"A lot of our customers, as you might appreciate, are now confused, we are well known in the area and have a good reputation. 

"Many of our customers are now thinking that we will be closing down, but we will not be closing down. We we continue to serve our customers.

"The licence issue has nothing to do with our food operations, it’s only about our alcohol sales."