A pizza chain boss has been warned that he could lose the right to employ expats because one of his foreign managers delivered an order to a customer ? defying strict Immigration rules.

Marico Thomas, managing director of Thomas United Company, which owns Four Star Pizza, says such a move would cripple his business and lead to at least 50 people losing their jobs, including some Bermudians.

The law dictates that pizza delivery drivers on the Island must be Bermudian but Mr. Thomas claims locals don?t want the job.

Guest workers often deliver for the company during busy periods because of the shortage of Bermudian staff.

When assistant manager Richard Ballares recently took a food order to a home, a complaint was made to the Department of Immigration by a member of the public.

Mr. Thomas told he then received a letter from the Department telling him that Labour Minister Derrick Burgess was considering revoking permission for his company to employ people on work permits.

Mr. Thomas said such a decision would force him to stop the delivery service altogether and could mean scores of job losses.

He said: ?He (Richard) made the delivery when there was no Bermudian person available to do it. We just can?t find people that want the job and want to do the job as defined.

?It was on my instructions that he went out but, at no point in time, did I know that what I was doing was against Immigration policy.?

Mr. Thomas said non-Bermudians have been delivering pizzas for Four Star since the business was launched in 1990 and that Labour Ministers over the years had been well aware of the fact.

Four Star Pizza needs more than 100 delivery drivers to fulfil its orders but usually has more than 70 vacancies at any given time, he said.

Locals tell Mr. Thomas they are embarrassed to take the job because it is viewed as menial ? even though it can pay as much as $30-an-hour with tips.

?When you see a person riding around in Bermuda with a red box everybody knows it?s (one of) my guys and it?s often a non-Bermudian,? said Mr. Thomas. ?It?s happened for years.?

He added: ?The Department of Immigration does not have an easy job to do. I understand what?s trying to be achieved. But we have been openly doing everything, I think, as above board as possible, for 16 years.

?I just don?t understand why now all of a sudden I?m told I?m a bad person. I would hope that I?m getting the same treatment as everyone else.?

At the moment, Four Star has between 30 and 40 expat workers who would have to leave the Island if the Minister revoked permission for the company to employ them.

Between 20 and 25 Bermudians would also lose their jobs as the pizza delivery service would be shelved.

Even if permission is not revoked, Mr. Thomas said the delivery service will stop if expats are no longer allowed to deliver pizzas, meaning the Bermudian drivers would be made redundant.

?It could change our entire business model overnight,? he said. ?We opened up as a delivery business. We hire these people in who have experience from other parts of the world. That?s vital in our environment where we have a hard time trying to find a dishwasher to come to work.?

Mr. Thomas said only using Bermudians for delivery could mean people waiting up to four hours to have an order brought to their home. ?I refuse to look inept, stupid and incompetent,? he added.

He said he did not intend to seek legal advice and would accept the Minister?s decision, if it went against him. ?We have been told to continue as we are until we receive final word sometime in the future.?

Assistant Chief Immigration Officer Rozy Azhar confirmed last night that a complaint had been made to the Department about Four Star.

She added: ?The terms of a work permit cannot be varied without the explicit permission of the Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety and no permission for managers to act as delivery persons has been given by the Minister.

?In fact, to my knowledge, no permission has ever been given to any employer in the food service industry to operate a delivery service to domestic households using non-Bermudians, unless the company is a catering company being hired to cater an event. If an Immigration infraction is discovered, then a letter will be served on the employer asking them to answer the allegations.?

She said that any decision made by the Minister about Four Star would be communicated directly to Mr. Thomas.

And she pointed out that Mr. Burgess had issued two public statements reminding the public that he had ?zero tolerance? for Immigration infractions since he was appointed Minister.