A FOOD and wine store has been reprimanded for failing to pay a £15,000 fine for employing someone who was working in the UK illegally.

Paramanantham Ratnasingam is liable to pay the fine for MA Foods and Wine on Atherton Road in Hindley.

The shop was raided by the Home Office on October 14 and given a civil penalty at the beginning of the year for hiring an employee who did not have permission to work in the UK.

Several months on, the Home Office says the fine has not been paid and it has referred the case to its debt recovery agents.

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "Those who use and exploit illegal workers face severe financial penalties.

“We are happy to work with businesses to ensure the right pre-employment checks are carried out, but those intent on operating outside the law will be found and will be punished.

“Using illegal labour is not victimless.

"It cheats the taxpayer, undercuts honest businesses and cheats legitimate job seekers of employment opportunities.

"We robustly pursue debts owed by employers of illegal immigrants and last year we collected more than £16 million.”

MA Foods and Wine is on the Home Office's list of employers who have not made payments for civil penalties handed out between January 1 and March 31 for not complying with illegal working legislation.

The list was published on September 1.