August 11, 2014

Fines for employing illegal workers have increased

Fines for employing illegal workers have increased from the 16th May 2014.


To clarify, illegal workers include:
• people who work on a visitor’s visa


If you are caught employing an illegal worker you’ll receive a ‘referral notice’ to let you know that:
• your case is being considered
• you may be fined (also known as a civil penalty) of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker

(However you won’t have to pay a fine if you can show a valid reason for employing an illegal worker.)


The consequences if you have ‘knowingly employed’ an illegal worker in addition to an unlimited fine is the potential of up to 2 years in prison.


Therefore whilst you are recruiting, you need to make sure you have a robust process for checking the original documentation of any potentially new employees before they start their employment with you, take copies and file them on their personnel file for future reference.

HR Heroes