Businesses face fines for hiring illegal workers

29/02/08 15:41

Businesses will be punished if they are caught hiring illegal foreign workers, due to new legislation that came into force today.

Under the new system of penalties, companies that hire individuals without full permission to work in the UK will now face fines of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker in their employment.

Added to this, any business which knowingly employs an individual to work in the UK who doesn’t have the correct documentation may be prosecuted for a criminal offence, which could lead to a hefty fine or face up to two years in prison.

Small businesses have criticised the legislation as they fear employers will have to act as “immigration officers”. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) described the newly hardened framework as a way of imposing “ unrealistic expectations and draconian fines on employers”.

Today also marks the inception of a new Australian-style points system to decide which individuals will make a valid contribution to the UK economy. As well as being scored on the five-tier system, applicants will also have to demonstrate their English competence by either passing an English language exam, holding a Bachelors degree taught in English or being a resident of a “majority English-speaking country”- South Africa and India are not included.

Jonathon Goldsworthy, an associate at law firm Bird & Bird’s employment group, said that the potential ramifications for business could be huge: “Businesses employing staff from outside the EEA need to be prepared for the changes in order to avoid delays in hiring or transferring non-EEA staff and incurring penalties, the knock-on costs of which could seriously impact upon their ability to employ migrant workers in the future.”