Tiger Tavern Pub & Grill, Tipton stripped of licence

Sandwell Council revoked the licence for Tiger Tavern Pub and Grill in Powis Avenue, Tipton, following a hearing carried out at the request of the Home Office.

The bar and grill was fined £45,000 last year after a visit from immigration officials revealed a dishwasher had been employed with no right to work in the UK. 

Licensing chair Matt Lloyd told owner and manager Gurminder Singh on July 10 that he had failed to make any “significant” changes between the fateful Home Office visit last year and July’s hearing and the committee had decided to revoke the licence.

At the hearing on July 10, Mr Singh said he had “trusted” his business partner to make the appropriate checks and employing the illegal worker was the “biggest mistake he’d ever made.”

“Everyone can make a mistake, I’ve learned [from] my mistake,” he said. “I was fined £45,000 and I’ll pay it. It’s my mistake.”

Duncan Craig, licensing barrister representing Mr Singh, said the illegal worker had “slipped through the net” and implored the panel to allow the pub to keep its licence to pay the fine.

“This was one employee out of a number,” he said. “This is not endemic, it’s not part of the operation.”

“If he doesn’t have a licence, the company won’t be in a position to pay off that fine,” he added. “The business won’t be viable.”

Mr Craig went on to say: “He has made a couple of payments and will continue to do so. A licensed restaurant that doesn’t have a licence is going to struggle to operate.”

Cllr Paul Tromans replied that while it was ‘only’ one employee that did not have the right to work in the UK, it was still “25% of the workforce” and right-to-work checks had only been carried out in June – nearly a year after the inspection by the Home Office which resulted in the fine.

Mr Singh said he had recently begun paying off the fine but Cllr Karl Leech criticised the pub owner for not starting sooner.

Immigration enforcement officials inspected the Tipton pub in August last year and found that one member of staff did not hold the right to work in the UK. 

When interviewed, the member of staff, who had entered the country in 2023 with a student visa, said she had worked at the pub for around three months and was usually paid around £50 to work from 6am until 11pm every Saturday, to help during private parties.

Gurminder Singh was also interviewed by Home Office officials and said the member of staff had been employed on that day as a dishwasher and would be paid between £50 and £60 cash in hand for a Saturday 5pm to 11pm shift. 

Mr Singh added that pre-employment checks – such as the right to work – would have been carried out by his business partner but the member of staff in question had only started working on the day of the Home Office’s visit. 

The Home Office said two other members of staff present during the inspection were found to be limited to working 20 hours a week and also not holding the right to work in the UK.

Mr Singh had objected to the £45,000 penalty and while the case was re-considered, the fine was not withdrawn. The pub had until November last year to appeal the decision, which was not taken up.

The report said: “During an enforcement visit to Tiger Tavern Pub & Grill [in] August 2025, immigration officers identified an individual working at the premises without holding the lawful right to do so. 

“The illegal worker stated that she had not been asked to provide any documentation to establish her immigration status or right to work prior to commencing employment, indicating that no compliant right-to-work checks had been undertaken by the employer. 

“The individual further confirmed that she was paid in cash at a rate of £7 per hour, which is significantly below the national minimum wage of £12.21. 

“Given that she had no lawful right to work and therefore no ability to obtain legal employment in the UK, this payment arrangement is a clear indicator of exploitation. 

“The employer contradicted the illegal worker by claiming that she had only started working at the restaurant on the day of the visit, seemingly in an attempt to justify the absence of any right-to-work checks.

“However, the length of employment is irrelevant to an employer’s statutory duties. 

“A right-to-work check must be carried out before an individual begins any form of work. 

“These checks are straightforward, require minimal time, and are clearly outlined in Home Office guidance. 

“It is an offence for an individual to work when disqualified from doing so, and such conduct can only occur through the involvement or neglect of the employer. 

“It is also an offence to employ someone where the employer knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the individual does not have the legal right to work.”