A shop has been allowed to keep its licence despite employing an illegal worker - who claims he was paid as little as £6 an hour and sometimes in food.

The man had been working at Dover International Food Centre in Pencester Road when immigration officials swooped last year.

The licence holder, Ms Yilson Sayin, has since paid a hefty £15,000 fine to the Home Office.

The details emerged at a Dover District Council licensing sub-committee last week.

Councillors heard that only one person was hired at the grocery store against immigration laws.

Rather than revoking the licence, it was modified to ensure bosses carry out proper checks on employees and keep records up to date.

Immigration officer Amy O'Riordan told the sub-committee that a member of her team found four people on the premises on August 3.

"Working illegally like this is driving illegal migration...”

The man identified as having no right to work in the UK at first pretended to be a customer, the meeting heard.

It was established he had been employed there since late 2022.

Ms O'Riordan said: "He said he was paid £6 to £7 an hour and sometimes in food, so not the minimum wage."

The man was 35 at the time and the least he should have been given was £10.42 an hour.

She added: "Working illegally like this is driving illegal migration. It is not playing by the rules and undercuts other businesses.

"It is a criminal offence, which can lead to up to six months in prison or an unlimited fine.”

The licensing sub-committee heard that the raid was by the Home Office's South East immigration enforcement team with a Dover District Council licensing officer.

They had turned up after information was received but had only needed to do so once.

The shop, listed on council documents as Dover International Supermarket, has had a premises license since July 2021 to sell takeaway alcohol and stay open late, which the councillors had the power to revoke.

The licence holder, Ms Yilson Sayin, did not attend the hearing on Monday, March 18.

The sub-committee heard she explained that she had already paid the fine but believed the licence should not be revoked.

The Home Office had formally applied for a review.

KentOnline has left a message with the business asking Ms Sayin to comment.

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

“Illegal working visits are up by more than 68% on last year and arrests have more than doubled, with more people arrested in 2023 than during the whole of 2022 because of this activity. We are also removing those with no right to be in the UK.”

On its Facebook page, Dover International Food Centre is described as having the “best selection of world food”, selling fresh fruit and vegetables and wine and spirits. It also also boasts of a deli, bakery and halal butcher.