A TAKEAWAY pizza firm has been hit with a £15,000 fine after immigration enforcement officers found an illegal worker on site.

The Fat Pizza Basildon, based at the Olympic Business Centre in the town, has been slapped with the huge fine after a Pakistani male was founding working illegally at the business.

Home Office immigration enforcement officers visited the site on October 5 when they found the illegal worker.

Now, the government has revealed that business owners were fined £15,000 over the incident.

David Kirkman, Labour councillor for the Fryerns ward where the business is located, said this should act as a warning to all businesses in the borough.

He added: “I am pleased to hear action was taken and the business has taken heed upon further inspection.

“Employment practices like these are exploitative and need to be stopped.

“I hope all businesses learn lessons from this.”

The business was revisited in June this year and no further offences were uncovered by enforcement officers.

The Echo has repeatedly contacted bosses at The Fat Pizza for comment, however they have failed to respond.

The Fat Pizza has multiple franchises across south Essex, including in Basildon, Rayleigh and Southend.

A Home Office spokesman added that illegal working visits are up by more than 50 per cent on last year and arrests have doubled.

The spokesman added: “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 50 per cent on last year and arrests have more than doubled, with more people arrested in 2023 than during the whole of 2022 as a result of this activity.

“We are also removing those with no right to be in the UK.”