Online
News - Business News - Date: July
2008
Illegal Working
For many years, there have been requirements for employers
to verify the identity of their workers in order to prevent
illegal working. Penalties under the Immigration, Asylum
and Nationality Act 2006 were increased from 29 February
2008 and the Home Office UK Border Agency website has been
updated to show a list of employers fined since the introduction
of the revised penalties. The website which lists employers
fined, by region, will be updated on a monthly basis.
From 29 February 2008, the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality
Act 2006 increased the civil penalty which can be imposed
on an employer to a maximum of £10,000 (previously £5,000)
for every illegal worker employed in the UK. It also introduced
a new criminal offence of knowingly employing an illegal
worker, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison or
an unlimited fine. Details of the current requirements
are set out below.
Employers can avoid both a civil penalty and committing
a criminal offence by checking, on recruitment, that workers
have a right to work in the UK. To obtain this protection,
employers must make the checks before the worker starts
work.
There are two lists of acceptable documents for checking
identity. List A contains items such as a British passport,
which have no time limits on working in the UK. List B
contains a list of documents which carry restrictions on
the amount of time individuals will be able to spend in
the UK. A significant change is that since 29 February
2008 employers now have to carry out annual checks for
those workers whose documents appear on List B, such as
work permit holders.
Please do get in touch if you would like any advice in
this area.
Internet Link:
Home
Office Guidance and Home
office list of employers fined
For further information, please contact us
on +44 113 389 6200 or email enquiries@kirknewsholme.co.uk
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