Calif Bar, a popular restaurant and nightclub on Stafford Street in Wolverhampton, is under scrutiny and faces a potential licensing review following the employment of an illegal worker. The City of Wolverhampton Council will review the venue’s licence in 2025 after the Home Office’s immigration enforcement raised concerns.
The club’s owner, Isi Lucky Idahor, was fined £45,000 after it was revealed that a chef working at Calif Bar lacked the right to work in the UK. The woman, who was detained by immigration officers during an inspection, had initially entered the country on a six-month visiting visa from September 2007 to March 2008. She overstayed her visa and never obtained legal work authorization.
During a May 2023 inspection by immigration officers, the chef provided false personal details and admitted to working as a chef for about a year, typically three hours a day once or twice a week. She received food and £40 for her work but did not provide any identification or proof to Mr. Idahor of her eligibility to work.
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Contradicting the worker’s account, Mr. Idahor claimed she worked irregularly for only around two months doing minor tasks. He stated he had seen a page from her passport but was unaware she was unauthorized to work.
The club went into liquidation in September 2023, according to Companies House records. West Midlands Police have backed the Home Office’s call to revoke Calif Bar’s licence, emphasizing that the evidence shows the venue knowingly hired illegal workers to maximize profit and reduce costs, disregarding licensing responsibilities.
Adding to the venue’s troubles, Mr. Idahor was fined £14,000 in 2023 after admitting to six breaches of food safety and hygiene regulations. During a 2022 routine inspection, environmental health officers found an active cockroach infestation, dirty crockery, unclean surfaces, and inadequate washing facilities at the bar.
Other violations included insufficient washbasins, a lack of hot and cold running water with hygienic drying materials, poor pest control, and inadequate staff training in food safety and hygiene. These breaches demonstrated a failure to maintain proper food safety procedures and to protect food from contamination.