New immigration rules mean harsher penalties for employers

Immigration is a thorny issue in many respects. With the current humanitarian crisis, the Government have made steps to tighten controls on those entering the UK obtaining work.

The current law in relation to foreign workers already places a heavy onus upon employers to carry out right-to-work checks. But new proposals in the Immigration Bill 2015-16, which could become law as early as June this year, will place even more responsibility on employers for ensuring eligibility to work.

Currently, a company can be convicted of committing a criminal offence if it knowingly employs an individual who does not have permission to work in the UK. The new bill amends this, meaning in the future an employer needs only to have had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ someone was an illegal worker to have committed a criminal offence.

Not only will it be potentially easier to convict business owners of employing illegal workers, the penalties for doing so are set to become much tougher. In addition to a maximum penalty of £20,000 per illegal worker, the maximum custodial sentence on indictment will increase from two to five years.

The new bill also affords greater powers to immigration enforcement officers. The new law will make it possible to shut down any business suspected of employing illegal workers for a period of 48 hours whilst investigations are undertaken.

For employers that frequently take on or have a high turnover of ‘low skilled’ staff, such as businesses in the retail, hotel, restaurant and manufacturing industries, having robust Right to Work compliance checks in place throughout the organisation is a priority.

It is imperative to ensure that plans are put in place now to deal with the tighter rules. For any advice in relation to foreign worker checks, or for help specifically in relation to the new Immigration Bill 2015-16, please get in touch with us.