Saiful Alam, the director of Watford-based Indian restaurant and takeaway Nuha Limited, has been disqualified from acting as a company director for a minimum of six years due to employing two illegal workers.
The sole registered director of the food business located on Langley Way was found to be employing two illegal staff in December 2014 after an inspection from HOIE officials. He received a penalty of £30,000 and payment was due by 21st April 2015. However, Mr Alam opted to place Nuha Limited into liquidation beforehand so the penalty remained unpaid.
The takeaway was incorporated in January 2004 and in March 2015, the time of liquidation, the company had recorded a loss that totalled in excess of £139,000. This deficiency included the penalty given, along with a further £30,000 that was owed as a result of unpaid tax and VAT.
Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, David Brooks, says:
“The Insolvency Service rigorously pursues directors who fail to pay penalties imposed by the government for breaking employment and immigration laws. We have worked closely in this case with our colleagues at the Home Office to achieve this disqualification.
The director sought to gain an unfair advantage over his competitors by employing individuals who did not have the right to work in the UK in breach of his duty as a director.
The public has a right to expect that those who break the law will face the consequences. Running a limited company, means you have statutory protections as well as obligations. If you fail to comply with your obligations the Insolvency Service will investigate and you run the risk of being removed from the business environment.”
Due to the disqualification, Saiful Alam is unable to claim himself as a director of a company (whether indirectly or directly), and is unable to be involved in the managerial roles of a company for a total of six years with the penalty being in-force from the 31st January 2017.
As a person with a disqualification order against naming themselves as a company director, they are also unable to be a receiver of a company’s property or take part in the formation, promotion or management of a limited liability partnership.
