FSB Urges Reform After Surrey Chip Shop Owner Hit with £40,000 Fine Over Illegal Worker

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is urging the Government to simplify right to work checks after a Surrey chip shop owner was fined £40,000 for unknowingly employing an illegal worker.

NFFF President, Andrew Crook “This is just one example of how business owners can get caught out. We have to be our own HR department, marketing department, procurement and production and the current environment often means we are needed to work in our businesses more to keep costs down. Government need to engage more closely with small businesses so they can learn first hands the realities of trading and the cost of doing business.”

Mark Sullivan, owner of Big Fry Fish & Chips in Egham, said immigration officers detained one of his managers in March after discovering he was using a false identity. Despite supplying what appeared to be legitimate paperwork, the worker was later found to have a different name.

Sullivan, who initially faced a £45,000 fine, received a discount for cooperating but said legal advice warned him an appeal could cost up to £80,000. “There were no red flags,” he said. “It’s left a huge hole in our cash flow at a time when retail is already struggling.”

FSB executive director Craig Beaumont said such penalties could be “fatal” for small businesses. “Employers aren’t immigration officers,” he said. “We need a system that recognises genuine mistakes rather than punishing them with crushing fines.”

The Home Office insists employers are responsible for checks, which can be done manually, online or via digital ID services. But the FSB argues the system is too complex and urgently needs reform to protect honest business owners.