Three individuals have been discovered to be working illegally after UK immigration checks were conducted on staff at a Dunfermline restaurant.
Officers from the UK Border Agency (UKBA) received intelligence regarding the Buffet King on Carnegie Drive and visited the establishment earlier this month (May 4th).
They checked the UK visa and work permits of those present and discovered that two Chinese man and one Chinese woman were working illegally. Not only did they not have the necessary UK work permit, but they also had no right to be in the country at all.
The group are now in detention awaiting their removal from the UK, but the business could face further problems. The firm has already been served with a civil penalty notice for employing the illegal workers. But if there is no evidence to confirm that the required checks were carried out before employing the three, then they could also face a fine of up to £30,000.
Adam Scarcliffe, assistant director of the UKBA in Scotland, commented on the case: "The UK Border Agency is committed to removing people who have no right to be in the UK, and will stamp down on the businesses which employ them.
"Employing illegal workers undercuts honest businesses in Fife and defrauds the public purse. There is no excuse for using illegal labour, and if people ignore our immigration laws, we will find them and remove them from the country."