Illegal Working Legislation - The Consequences

Over the last few months there have been many reports of businesses, both locally and nationally, being raided by officers of the UK Border Agency (UKBA). The aim of raids is to establish whether the employer is employing any workers illegally, in other words non-EU workers without permission to work. Raids often result in the issuing of Civil Liability Penalty Notices (fines) and could also result in a criminal prosecution. There has been an unprecedented level of prosecutions lately, resulting in the UKBA issuing fines in excess of £10,000,000 since February 2008.

Immigration legislation, introduced with effect from 29 February 2008, provides for both criminal and civil penalties to be issued. An employer can be issued with a maximum penalty of £10,000 fine per illegal worker and be named and shamed on a list published on the UK Border Agency website. Therefore failure to observe the new requirements can have a serious impact on businesses, not only financially, but also in terms of their reputation in the market place.

If issued with a Notice of Civil Liability, an employer can raise an objection and can also appeal against the imposition of the fine to the County Court. Employers are therefore best advised to know the law before employing workers, by carrying out the necessary statutory checks which would lead to a statutory defence.

In particular, employers should be aware of the necessary document checks that need to be done for all employees, both current and new. These should be available upon request in the event of the UK Border Agency carrying out enforcement and compliance visits. We would therefore advise employers to obtain advice at the earliest opport- unity to safeguard their businesses.