A Shepton Mallet restaurant was fined £10,000 for employing a worker without the legal right to work, according to the latest Home Office report on non-compliant employers.

Rosemary Greek Restaurant, which had been located on High Street before it closed down, received the penalty between July 1 and September 30, 2024, as part of a wider crackdown on businesses failing to carry out proper right-to-work checks.

The restaurant was among four businesses in Somerset penalised in the Home Office's latest quarterly report, with fines totalling £170,000.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle MP said that the Home Office has deliberately increased enforcement visits since last summer's general election, to demonstrate that the government "will not tolerate any hiding place from law enforcement".

Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime at Immigration Enforcement Eddy Montgomery said: "This activity demonstrates our laser focus on holding employers to account. I am proud of the teams across the country, for their hard work in accelerating this activity in recent months to prevent exploitation and ensure those who break the law face consequences."

Under the UK's Immigration Rules, employers play a key role in preventing illegal working and abuse of the work visa routes, for example by carrying out right to work checks and complying with sponsorship duties when recruiting from overseas. The government has made it clear that unscrupulous employers who hire migrant workers illegally and exploit vulnerable people will not be tolerated, and the consequences of non-compliance are severe.

• The property where Rosemary Greek Restaurant once operated is now home to La Bella Restaurant, which has no connection to the previous business or its owners.