Wandsworth Council's Licensing Sub-Committee has imposed new conditions on the licence for Flor de Samba following concerns raised by the Home Office Immigration Enforcement regarding illegal working.
The review, initiated by the Home Office, focused on immigration offences at the premises. This followed an immigration enforcement visit on 8 August 2025, which identified illegal working. During this visit, one individual was found to be working illegally, admitting to working for two to three weeks as a general assistant without any right-to-work checks being conducted by the employer. Two other individuals encountered displayed behaviour consistent with attempting to evade officers and later admitted to working in the UK without lawful right.
While the Home Office initially sought the revocation of the licence due to these findings, this was no longer pursued after the premises licence was transferred to Latin Market Tooting Limited and Andre de la Mora Hernandez became the Designated Premises Supervisor.
Following the enforcement visit, Samba BR Limited was issued with a civil penalty of £40,000 for employing an individual who did not have the right to work in the UK. The company objected to this penalty, but it was maintained on 16 October 2025. No payment has been received, and the penalty remains outstanding in full, having been referred to a debt collection agency.
Instead, the Home Office requested, and the new operator agreed to, the following conditions being added to the licence:
- The premises licence holder must conduct right-to-work checks for all prospective employees before employment begins, including those on trial or working on a casual or informal basis.
- Copies of documents from right-to-work checks must be securely retained by the licence holder or be immediately accessible for inspection by immigration officials.
- The licence holder or their representative must be able to produce right-to-work documents without delay upon request from an immigration officer.
The committee noted that these conditions reflect legal requirements and were deemed appropriate for enhanced compliance due to previous immigration offences at the premises.
Further details regarding the licensing sub-committee meeting can be found in the Public reports pack and the Agenda frontsheet.
