In an article in The Daily Telegraph, Tesco is facing a £200,000 fine after workers at one of its warehouses were found to be working illegally. Tesco said it was "co-operating fully" with the UKBA, adding that it had tightened procedures to tackle illegal workers, which it did not condone employing. Authorities found the students, of almost a dozen nationalities, were working significantly longer hours than their visas allowed at the warehouse operated by Britain’s biggest supermarket chain.
The breaches were discovered after immigration officials swooped on the Tesco.com building in Croydon, south London, last month. UK Border Agency officials arrested 20 of the students for alleged breaches of visa terms that restricted the amount of hours they could work. It is understood that at least seven of the students, none of whom has been identified, have been deported. It follows Home Office operations to put a stop to “visa abuse”. Officials discovered the students, who were predominantly of Bangladeshi and Indian origin, had been working up to three-and-a-half times longer than their visas allowed. In Ireland Citizens from countries outside the EU/EEA who are registered as full-time students with the Garda Síochána are permitted to work part-time in Ireland (up to a maximum of 20 hours a week and full-time during vacation periods) to support themselves. Since 18 April 2005 Students who have been given permission to remain in Ireland for study cannot be given permission to work unless they are attending a full-time course of at least a year leading to a recognised qualification (recognised qualifications include those issued by the Dublin Institute of Technology, the universities, FETAC and HETAC).
