Restaurant owner gets hefty fines for hiring foreigners without permit

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Hiring foreign workers without the requisite permits has landed a restaurant owner in a legal quagmire, attracting hefty fines.

The Public Prosecution issued a criminal order, imposing a fine of BD1,000 on the restaurant owner for each unauthorised worker, as prescribed by the law.

The workers themselves are not spared, facing BD100 fines each and deportation after serving their sentences.

Court documents state that labour inspectors spotted the illegal workers in the restaurants during a routine inspection.

The workers were detained in accordance with Law No. 19 of 2006 concerning the regulation of the labour market.

However, the owner and one of the workers challenged the fines at the Court of First Instance but failed to attract a favourable decision.

Undeterred, they took their grievances to the Court of Appeals.

However, there too the legal palate remains unchanged, and the original verdict was affirmed.

Determined to explore all avenues of legal appeal, they took the case to the Court of Cassation.

The judges, with a discerning eye, found the appeal lacking in substance, leading to its swift dismissal.

Rejecting the appeal, the judges viewed that the employer failed to produce proper work permits.