Employment Checks for illegal Working
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Sections 15 to 26 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality 2006 came into force on 29 February 2008.
As a result of these new sections, the Government introduced some changes to the law on preventing illegal working. As a UK employer, you need to be aware of these changes to avoid accountability to payment of a civil fine and/or a criminal conviction for employing an illegal worker.
The law changes aim to make it more difficult for illegal workers to remain in employment in the UK, and easier for employers to ensure their employees are legal workers. The act also strengthens the powers of the Border & Immigration Agency (BIA) to take enforcement action against employers using illegal workers.
To comply with equal opportunity law and diversity, you are being recommended to undertake document checks on all would-be staff and workers and as the UK contains a range of ethnic groups. An individual's race, ethnicity or religion is no indication of an entitlement to work here and it is important that your recruitment practices do not discriminate against any person.
For employees with time-limited leave to be in the UK, you must carry out repeat checks at least once a year to retain the excuse.
At TrainingTeams, we will provide you with all the information you
need in a simple but effective training session by an expert in
immigration matters. You will be given the up-to-date regulations
and advice on how to ensure you remain within the law.
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BBC NEWS - Fines for hiring illegal workers
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New legislation which will punish businesses caught employing illegal foreign workers has come into force. If employers are found to have knowingly hired illegal workers they could incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison for up to two years. The fines are part of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act. Small businesses have criticised the new legislation, because they fear it will require employers to act as "immigration officers". Bosses caught employing illegal workers could face a £10,000 on the spot fine. Previously the maximum was £5,000. The Home Office said the new civil penalties for employers who unknowingly hire illegal workers would allow it to save criminal prosecution for more serious cases. 'Totally unfair' The measures sit along side other changes being made as part of the biggest immigration shake-up for 40 years.
The UK will introduce an Australian-style points system that will allow the government to pinpoint immigrants with skills that will benefit the UK economy. It will also make ID cards compulsory for foreign nationals. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said the new rules imposed unrealistic expectations and draconian fines on employers. "It is totally unfair to expect small business owners to act as immigration officers," said Alan Tyrrell, FSB employment chairman. The FSB said the act requires small businesses to understand and verify up to 13 different forms of identification when employing foreign workers. When the new measures were announced in November, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the penalties were "a more effective way of dealing with employers who use slipshod or exploitative recruitment methods". Check documents Families could also be affected by the changes to the law if they, for example, employ a nanny who turns out to be an illegal worker, said Kerry Garcia, an employment and immigration specialist at law firm Stevens and Bolton. "There is a move toward making employers bear some of the burden on immigration and some employers resent this," said Ms Garcia. She encouraged employers to check the documents of all new workers and make sure they have the right to work in the UK. The UK's latest official annual immigration statistics showed record levels of people arriving in the UK and record numbers leaving. Figures from the Office for National Statistics said 591,000 people migrated to the UK in 2006 while some 400,000 people moved overseas. |
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