Kebab shop may be forced to close early due to allegedly hiring illegal workers

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter.

A west London kebab shop could be forced to shut early after allegedly being caught hiring illegal migrant workers.

Woody Grill, in Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush, was referred for a licence review last month after immigration officials allegedly found it had hired a number of illegal migrants to work in the kitchen.

Woody Grill bosses face having their late-night licence revoked or suspended as a result, and may be forced to shut at 11pm instead of 5am.

Officers from the Home Office’s Central London Immigration and Compliance Team (ICE) visited the shop three times between March 2022 and May 2023 after being tipped off about suspected illegal workers, a council report has revealed.

Immigration officers fined Woody Grill £30,000 after a visit on March 17, 2022 when they allegedly found four people working illegally on the premises.

The workers were escorted off and Woody Grill was handed a civil penalty. It was also forced to install CCTV and carry out right-to-work checks.

In February 2023, officers inspected the site again after another tip-off, and encountered what they described as an “evasive” manager, director Ali Haydar Gumus, who they claim tried to stall them.

Immigration inspectors and Hammersmith and Fulham Council licensing officers visited the venue a third time on May 19, using a warrant to get access. They found two people allegedly working illegally.

Council workers discovered the restaurant had breached all but one condition of its new licence.

Officers were unable to establish if one condition – ensuring workers are paid the prevailing minimum wage – was being met and so were unable to determine if it was being breached.

During each inspection, officers found workers from Albania, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan who had allegedly arrived in the UK illegally, and a Turkish man who breached the terms of his visa, according to a council report.

Council licensing officers now want the restaurant’s late-night licence revoked, fearing not doing so would lead to “a similar pattern of non-compliance at the premises in the future”.

A Met statement said: “The Metropolitan Police have zero confidence in the operator of this premise and are of the opinion that the premise will continue to breach licensing conditions.

“Therefore the Metropolitan Police request that the licensing sub-committee revoke the current premise licence.”

In 2016, Woody Grill’s owners pleaded guilty to eight offences relating to a failed food inspection and was fined £30,000. Inspectors found animal droppings, “filthy” benches and raw food left unprotected, according to Hammersmith and Fulham council’s website.

The takeaway was inspected again in 2018 and given the highest hygiene rating, according to the Food Standards Agency.

According to Woody Grill’s website, the restaurant serves Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine and claims to follow “deep-rooted traditions” that includes “loving care” of people.

Pictured top: Woody Grill (Picture: Google Street View)