Hayat Restaurant, a Turkish restaurant at 25 The Oval in Sidcup, faces potential loss of its premises licence after the Home Office issued £135,000 in civil penalties for employing three illegal workers, none of which have been paid. Bexley Council is reviewing the licence at the Home Office's request.
ICE team visits uncover immigration offences
On April 10, 2025, officers from the South London Immigration, Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) team visited Hayat following intelligence about illegal employment. Among five employees, two were immigration offenders. Both were Uzbekistani men. The first claimed he cleaned tables for two months, showing his Asylum Registration Card (ARC) to prove his right to work, but Home Office checks revealed his visit visa expired in February 2022 and all three protection claims were refused. The second, found preparing food in the kitchen, said he worked as a cook for up to a year, hired by then-Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) Halil Argun. He earned £60 daily for 5.5 hours, paid cash without tax or National Insurance, and held an expired seasonal worker visa from 2021.
Owner Alexandra Paiu, contacted by phone during the visit, stated she did not handle hiring or right-to-work checks, delegating them to her accountant. She believed the men were emergency staff and was unaware of their lack of documentation.
Second visit finds another illegal worker
On August 14, 2025, the ICE team returned and found a Turkish man working in the kitchen who initially claimed to be 'the boss' but admitted starting three days earlier. He worked five days a week, eight to ten hours daily, for £400-£500 weekly, hired by premises licence holder and current DPS Mehmet Celik. According to council documents, Celik conducted no right-to-work checks and knew the man was not allowed to work in the UK but promised to help. The man's student visa expired in September 2009, and a subsequent leave application was rejected; he was an overstayer.
Unpaid penalties and licence review
The Home Office issued a £90,000 civil penalty to The Oval Sidcup Ltd, the company owning Hayat, on September 16, 2025, due a month later but unpaid, now with a third-party debt recovery specialist. A further £45,000 penalty on November 21, 2025, also remains unpaid and referred for recovery. The Home Office has requested Bexley Council revoke the premises licence, which would prohibit alcohol sales and late-night food sales after 11pm. The council's Licensing Sub-Committee will review the licence on June 25, 2026.
