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Businesses are being warned to undertake
more rigorous checks into applicants’
backgrounds as the number of prosecutions
for employing illegal workers increased
over 500%, according to Giant Precision a
business process outsourcer. According
to information they obtained from the Home
Office, the introduction in February 2008
of the new penalty system has led to 233
prosecutions of employers for employing
illegal workers. This compares with no
more than 40 cases per year previously.
Matthew Brown, Managing Director of
Giant Precision said:
“The new civil penalty for employers
who hire illegal immigrants has made a big
difference to the UK Border Agency’s
activity in bringing cases against
employers. More employers than ever before
are finding themselves hit with big
fines.
The new regulations are tough on
employers and recruiters who may have
checked into candidate’s backgrounds and
been duped by fraudulent documents. Even
if checks are carried out, the UK Border
Agency can still levy fines if it deems
recruiters and employers have not been
sufficiently rigorous.”
For many years, there have been
requirements for employers to verify the
identity of their workers in order to
prevent illegal working. Penalties under
the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality
Act 2006 were increased from 29 February
2008. The Home Office UK Border Agency
website is regularly updated to show a
list of employers fined since the
introduction of the revised penalties.
Employers can avoid both a civil
penalty and committing a criminal offence
by checking, on recruitment, that workers
have a right to work in the UK. To obtain
this protection, employers must make the
checks before the worker starts work.
There are two lists of acceptable
documents for checking identity. List A
contains items such as a British passport,
which have no time limits on working in
the UK. List B contains a list of
documents which carry restrictions on the
amount of time individuals will be able to
spend in the UK. Employers now have to
carry out annual checks for those workers
whose documents appear on List B, such as
work permit holders.
Please do get in touch if you would
like any advice in this area.
Internet links:
Giant Precision press release
Home Office Guidance and
Home office list of employers fined |
