Akbars Restaurant [2026] UKSC 26: What the Supreme Court Decision Means for Civil Penalty Notices

Employer and solicitor reviewing a civil penalty notice

If your business has received an illegal working Civil Penalty Notice, do not assume that the notice is legally valid simply because it was issued by the Home Office.

Civil penalties can reach £60,000 per worker. In Akbars Restaurant (Middlesbrough) Limited v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] UKSC 26, the Supreme Court unanimously allowed the employer’s appeal. The Court held that a Civil Penalty Notice issued under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 must identify the specific statutory ground on which the Home Office says the employer is liable.

The judgment was handed down on 27 July 2026. It is important for employers because it confirms that the Home Office must properly state its case when exercising a penal power.

What happened in the Akbars case?

Immigration officers inspected the restaurant in January 2023 and identified a worker whose leave to remain had expired. In March 2023, the Home Office issued a Civil Penalty Notice for £15,000.

The notice listed the alternative grounds in section 15(1) of the 2006 Act. It said, in effect, that the worker had either not been granted leave, had leave that was invalid or had ceased to have effect, or was subject to a condition preventing the employment. It did not state which particular ground the Home Office believed applied.

Akbars argued that this did not satisfy section 15(6)(a), which requires a penalty notice to state why the Secretary of State thinks the employer is liable. The County Court and Court of Appeal rejected that argument. The Supreme Court disagreed.

What did the Supreme Court decide?

The Court held that the alternative cases in section 15(1) are mutually exclusive. The Home Office must decide which one applies before it can lawfully issue a penalty notice and must tell the employer which ground it relies on.

The judgment establishes four important points:

A civil penalty regime is penal in nature. Proper reasons are required when the state imposes a financial sanction.
Fairness requires the employer to receive accurate and sufficient information so that it can decide whether to object or appeal and identify the evidence it needs.
A notice that merely lists mutually inconsistent statutory alternatives does not adequately explain why the employer is liable.
The Home Office cannot cure that basic defect by identifying a different or more precise ground later in the court proceedings.

The failure to comply with section 15(6)(a) rendered the notice invalid. The Supreme Court therefore allowed the appeal.

Does Akbars mean that every civil penalty can be cancelled?

No. The decision must not be overstated.

The Court confirmed that a notice should be read as a whole. A Civil Penalty Notice will not be invalid merely because an employer disagrees with the Home Office or because every detail could have been expressed more clearly.

The key question is whether the notice properly identifies the statutory basis on which liability is alleged. The judgment also confirms that the Home Office may issue a fresh notice that complies with the statutory requirement.

Employers must still examine the underlying merits, including the identity of the true employer, the worker’s immigration status, whether employment is established, the right to work evidence, any statutory excuse and the penalty calculation.

What should an employer check after Akbars?

An urgent review should consider:

whether the notice identifies the particular limb of section 15(1) relied on;
whether the stated ground matches the factual allegations and Home Office evidence;
whether the correct legal entity has been identified as the employer;
whether the worker was employed for the purposes of the statutory scheme;
whether a prescribed right to work check created a statutory excuse;
whether the correct breach level and mitigating factors were applied;
whether the Home Office has changed the legal or factual basis of its case; and
the exact objection or appeal deadline shown by the relevant notice.

The deadline still matters

Akbars does not give employers permission to ignore a notice while validity is investigated. GOV.UK states that an employer receiving a Civil Penalty Notice has 28 days to respond, and the applicable deadline will be stated in the notice. A further court appeal deadline may apply after an objection decision.

Check the dates printed on the notice immediately. Preserve the notice, Statement of Case, Objection Outcome Notice and all right to work records. Records should not be altered or recreated retrospectively.

How NA Law Solicitors can help

NA Law Solicitors advises employers on illegal working investigations, Civil Penalty Notices, written objections and court appeals. We can review:

the validity and wording of the notice;
the legal and factual basis of the allegation;
the right to work evidence and any statutory excuse;
the penalty calculation and mitigation;
the objection or appeal strategy; and
any linked sponsor licence risk.

If you have received a Referral Notice, Civil Penalty Notice or Objection Outcome Notice, send us the document date, the stated deadline, the number of workers named and whether the business holds a sponsor licence.

Book a civil penalty consultation or call 0203 524 5439.

This article gives general information only and is not legal advice on a specific case. The legal position and deadlines must be checked against the documents in each matter.

NA Law Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. SRA No. 645049.

Official sources

Last legally reviewed: 11 August 2026.

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