A review into Cheshire West and Chester Council's hiring process has begun after it was hit with a £40,000 Government fine for employing an illegal worker.

In June, the Home Office issued the council with an initial civil penalty of £45,000.

This related to an employee with a temporary right to work in the UK, who had not succeeded in their application to have it extended and had not told the council.

At the time, the council said it had "no record or knowledge" of the matter and was contacting the Home Office for clarification.

Three months later, the council said it had accepted the judgement but was granted a reduced penalty of £40,000 in recognition of the fact it was not initially notified about the breach by the Home Office.

Cheshire West and Chester Council maintained that it had taken swift action to dismiss the employee in question.

Labour's Cllr Louise Gittins, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, then said she had commissioned a "comprehensive review and audit" of the council's right to work processes.

She said this was to "provide assurance" that controls are operating effectively and to identify any lessons that can be learned.

The review and audit of the council's right to work processes is currently in progress.

A spokesperson said the council is hoping to complete this review in time to report to Committee in January 2027.

When first announcing the review, Cllr Gittins said the council did "not knowingly employ" an illegal worker and that they had the right to work when they were hired.

She said: "The council acted decisively when it became aware of the change of immigration status. The council follows the statutory right to work processes set by the Government and applies these checks across its workforce.

"While robust processes are in place, human error can occur in any organisation.

"The critical point is that once the issue was identified, the council acted swiftly to rectify the situation."

However, Cllr Adrian Waddelove (Farndon), leader of the Cheshire West and Chester Conservative Group, said at the time he was "frankly astounded" by the news.

"The Labour administration claims that, time after time, there is no money for schemes that would have a significant positive benefit for residents and businesses such as safe crossing routes, pothole repairs or community investment," he said.

"Yet, £40,000 of taxpayers' money has been simply flitted away by council incompetence.

"This is simply unacceptable and there must be some accountability, and someone must take responsibility and resign."