Illegal workers: changes in the law that may cost you £10,000 per worker.....!
The law has recently changed in relation to recruitment of non UK nationals and the onus put on employers to ensure that they are not employing illegal workers. This has been changed by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, which came into force on 29th February 2008.
The previous legislation meant that provided an employer had done the relevant checks and had the documentary proof that the checks had been carried out, they would have a defence if a person then transpired to be working illegally.
This is still the case to some extent but now employers have to check the documents more thoroughly as unlike previously where the repercussions would be criminal, they are now civil which means there is a lower burden of proof on the prosecuting authority in order to fine employers for having illegal workers. The fine can be anything up to £10,000 per employee/worker and so it is essential that employers ensure that they are not at risk.
On the plus side the Government agencies are now giving clearer guidance on the documentation and a sliding scale for the penalties that they are able to impose. If you have employed staff and have the correct documentation at the time that they were employed then this will probably be satisfactory for the period that you employ them. However should there be any break in continuity of employment then you will need to seek documentation that meets the new requirements.
Under the new requirements there are several categories of employees and these are dependant on which country they are from, and this will affect the documents they need to provide.
Those who supply certain types of documents as proof of their ability to work in the UK will need to be checked every 12 months to ensure that person’s status has not changed.
There is guidance on this from the government but this is a very wide area and so if you would like further assistance then please do not hesitate to contact Intellect Business Services who will be happy to discuss how we can assist you with this or any other employment issue – 0800 023 2048