A cafe owner accused of making a student slave away at her Tube station cafe for two years told her it would help her English, a court has heard.
Lina Thakrar, 51, and Praful Thakrar, 54, allegedly made the woman work for up to 15 hours a day for just £3.50 an hour and would only allow her two timed toilet breaks.
The Old Bailey was told the unnamed student initially agreed to work for two to three hours a day for free so she could practice her English but after two weeks Mrs Thakrar suggested the increase in her hours.
Julian Winship, prosecuting, said if she asked to go to use the bathroom more than twice she was told to stop drinking water and ate while standing at the Espresso cafe on the Jubilee Line concourse at Stratford Station.
More than half of Tories want a no-deal Brexit over Theresa May's deal
He added the cost of the food was then deducted from her wages.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Mr Winship claimed the couple held her immigration status over the student to make her continue working and set up CCTV to keep watch on her while they were at home.
Jurors heard the alarm was raised when a police officer noticed the student working extremely long hours and saw she was standing at the till barefoot in freezing conditions with only a piece of cardboard between her feet and the floor.
The officer slipped the student her phone number and told her to call her.
Mrs Thakrar gave a no comment interview to police when she was arrested while her husband claimed he didnt even know who she was.
But in her defence Mrs Thakrar told the court she didnt know the student was not going to college and claimed she loved working there so much that she would joke with customers that it was her shop.
She said: I have to keep telling her to go, go home, you can get some rest or get your college work done.
She would never leave the shop, the way she was working it was like it was her own home.
Man told judge he killed ex in 'moment of passion' after stabbing her 20 times
The Old Bailey was told the employee had come to England from India to study for a masters degree in 2012 and met Mrs Thakrar the following year at the temple they both worshiped at.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Mrs Thakrar added that she agreed to lend the student £6,000 to put a deposit down on an online course which would also allow the student to extend her visa to remain in the UK
She also said the working arrangement came to an end when the student revealed that she did not have permission to work in the UK.
I said, if you are not allowed to work, you cannot come to the shop from tomorrow, she said.
More: UK
Mrs Thakrar also denied referring to her former employee as a dirty girl insisting she would never use that type of language.
She is very good at crying, she said. Every time I spoke to her she was in tears. I could not see her but I could hear it in her voice.
A text message read in court from the student to Mrs Thakrar said: I do not want to go back to India, please dont force me to go there.
Lina Thakrar and Praful Thakrar, from Ilford, deny requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory to perform forced or compulsory labour.
The trial continues.
Advertisement
Advertisement
[contf]
[contfnew]
METRO
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
