Woody Grill Fined for Hiring Illegal Migrants
Kebab restaurant faces review of its licence to stay open late
The building seen from Lime Grove and Pennard Road. Picture: Google Streetview
July 31, 2023
A Shepherd’s Bush kebab shop could be forced to shut early after being caught hiring illegal migrant workers. Woody Grill on Uxbridge Road was referred for a licence review last month after immigration officials found it had hired a number of illegal migrants to work in their kitchen.
Woody Grill faces having its 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 found four individuals 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 who they claim tried to stall them. The Hammersmith and Fulham Council report read, “Upon entry there were 7-8 staff members observed in the premises. Officers entered and attempted to get informed consent from the person in charge (now known to be the director Ali Haydar Gumus).
“Gumus was evasive and used delaying tactics stating that he needed to contact the regional manager, claiming that she was in hospital and that he could not get through to her on the phone and then was attempting to text her. Whilst the person in charge was delaying giving consent, two males behind the counter appeared visibly nervous and 4 members of staff (1x female and 3x males) were observed slowly stopping what they were doing and heading out of the restaurant/counter area and into the read kitchen out of sight and they did not reappear.
“Upon entry, it was discovered that during the delay in officers being able to get inside, the 4 members of staff had fled through a pre-planned escape route, a ceiling window at the back of the restaurant.”
Of the remaining four workers, two allegedly turned out to be working illegally in the UK, including one male worker who had been found in a previous raid. Another put on his coat and allegedly attempted to pose as a customer to leave.
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 their 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 the report.
Council licensing officers 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”. The council report read, “The Licensing Team has tried to work with the licence holder to offer advice and gain compliance. In March 2022 we gave extensive advice and guidance on the issue of illegal workers, and after these discussions extra conditions were added to the licence. The licence holder has shown a disregard for the law and the licensing objectives by agreeing to these conditions, and then breaching them a few months later.”
The Met Police added, “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 subcommittee revoke the current premise licence.”
It comes as residents wrote to the council complaining about customers urinating on the street and fights breaking out. One resident, who wants the shop to close at midnight, wrote, “It’s open until 5am daily, I can’t sleeping at night with car doors banging, drunks shouting, litter from take away on the floor, it’s a constant problem and is effecting [sic] my sleep and well being it’s on a main road with no parking so customers park on Hopgood Street and this is very disturbing and noisy.”
Another said, “This particular premises was done for putting meat waste outside on the street in the height of summer. And were fined thousands of pounds for lack of hygiene and continuously ignoring it with no regard for local authorities.”
A third claimed customers were choosing to socialise on their street. They said, “They then throw the waste on the street, there is constant fighting, cars playing loud music, people urinating[on] our streets. We have lived with antisocial behaviour from this premises for too many years now. Please as a borough can you please revoke this late trading licence and allow them to trade until 11pm or midnight at the latest.”
In 2016, Woody Grill’s owners pleaded guilty to eight offences relating to a failed food inspection and were 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. A blurb on their site reads: “Every day we make many decisions about what we eat and every one of our food choices has an ethical and environmental impact. It is the best of coincidences that good food choices – those that are good for our land and people, for the environment, for the body and mind – are also delicious and enjoyable.”
Woody Grill was contacted for comment but did not provide one by the time of publishing. Hammersmith and Fulham Council will make a decision on Thursday, 3 August.
Adrian Zorzut - Local Democracy Reporter
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