Fines for employers who have illegal workers on their staff have doubled to £20,000 under a new Home Office Code of Practice aimed at clamping down on illegal working.
The same stiff penalty applies to businesses which are found to be employing students who are working outside the terms of their visa.
Pinsent Mason’s immigration and employment law specialist, Jill Turner, warned that on top of heavier financial penalties, employers now must carry out more stringent checks on documents which verify an individual’s right-to-work status.
Under the new code the list of acceptable documents used in checks has been reduced and additional checks must be made on working students who have permission to study in the UK. It also recommends that employers carry out statutory right-to-work checks for all prospective workers, and not just those who are from an ethnic minority or have a foreign accent, for example, as this would be discriminatory.
The Aberdeen-based lawyer said: “The real difficulty will be that employers may not now be holding the right documents to say anyone – migrant or not – has the right to work and if they are employing people without the right to work then the fine can be up to £20,000 for each illegal worker.
“Under the new code, employers must request a copy of the student term and vacation dates as additional evidence to ensure that Tier 4 students are not working in breach of the restrictions on the number of hours that can be worked per week during term or vacation.
“The financial penalties are significant and we would emphasise the importance of businesses having appropriate procedures in place to ensure that correct documentation and evidence is being obtained in relation to all workers before their employment commences.”
At the same time the Home Office has removed the need for employers to carry out repeat checks on right-to-work status for migrant workers every 12 months and linked those checks to visa expiry dates. Employers also now have a 60 day period rather than 28 days to ensure all staff are compliant following a TUPE transfer.
Jill Turner added: “The reforms impact on a number of important areas of employment, recruitment and business immigration law, employers have to take extra care to avoid falling foul of the legislation and being hit with an unwelcome fine.”