Can You Afford A £10,000 Fine For Employing An Illegal Worker?

Recently the BBC reported a dramatic increase in the number of employers being prosecuted for employing illegal workers.

Since the law changed on 29 February 2008, 137 businesses were caught employing illegal immigrants. This is more than ten times the number of business caught during the whole of 2007, and more than double the number prosecuted during the previous decade.

Since February the UK Border Agency has increased their number of operations by 40% and fined employers £500,000 in the past two months.

The changes themselves were part of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 with the purpose of tackling the problem of unscrupulous employers undercutting their competitors and driving down British wages by employing people illegally.

So what does this mean for employers in the south west?

As the region’s tourism industry prepares itself for its busiest time of year, many employers are taking on foreign workers. These employers could potentially commit civil and criminal offences if they are failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that the individuals they employ are legally entitled to work in the UK.

The ‘reasonable steps’ required include obtaining documentation from employees proving their right to work in the UK, and checking the validity of these documents. The Home Office has produced a list of the types of documentation required, which includes national insurance numbers, passports, visas and other travel documents.

It is the employer’s responsibility to examine the photographs and personal details provided, to compare them with the individual’s likeness and for consistency with other documents, as well as satisfy themselves that the documents are in fact genuine.

Taking these steps before an employee starts work provides an employer with a ‘statutory excuse’ and avoids a possible prosecution. If an employer fails to take these steps or take copies of the relevant documents, they could face a fine of up to £10,000 under civil law, and an unlimited fine and up to 2 years in prison under criminal law.

Practically speaking, it is not always easy for employers to know whether someone is in the country legally, so the best protection is to operate stringent recruitment procedures requiring that appropriate documentation is obtained from all potential employees at either the recruitment stage or as a condition of a job offer. This may be more difficult for smaller employers with a high staff turnover during the summer months. But, with a 40% increase in the number of enforcement operations carried out by the Home Office Border Agency, is it really worth the risk of a £10,000 fine?

For further information contact James Collings

Published 15/05/2008. The author of this article is James Collings