A BUSINESS owner was shocked to discover his restaurant was listed on the government website as being fined £10,000 for having illegal workers.

Owner of Wickham's Rodizio Grill, Achuthan Leelaratnam, received a letter back in November from Immigration Enforcement stating he was “not liable for a civil penalty under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006” in respect to one of his employees.

However, as previously reported, the Brazilian steakhouse in Wickham Road has been included on the gov.uk website for being fined £10,000 for having illegal workers between October and December.

The Home Office was contacted for clarification but declines to comment on individual cases.

READ MORE: Hampshire steakhouse fined £10,000 for having illegal workers

Mr Leelaratnam said he was only made aware that his business had been named and shamed in the public domain on Monday, June 5, more than a week after the list was published.

He said: “We haven’t received any penalty at all and we didn’t receive a letter that we had to pay. I don’t know why there is a fee.

“It’s wrong and not right that this information has been published, they should have at least told us in a letter. I’m really confused and emailed them as soon as I heard.

“We have a system in place to check all our employees and their identification. We’ve been trading for six years now and never had any issues.

“As a business, we are already struggling with expenses so this is the last thing we need.”

Mr Leelaratnam has four employees including the individual he believes to have been wrongfully penalised.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Illegal working causes untold harm to our communities, cheating honest workers out of employment, putting vulnerable people at risk, and defrauding the public purse.

“The government is tackling illegal immigration and the harm it causes by removing those with no right to be in the UK.”