News
Changes to Immigration System
Tougher penalties have been introduced for those who employ illegal migrants. The severest penalties of unlimited fines and prison sentences will be for those who knowingly break rules. Not knowing is not an excuse though, penalties of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker could still be faced if you have unknowingly employed an illegal migrant.
It is important therefore that you have a system in place to check that all workers you employ are eligible to work in the UK. If you have checked the documents of a worker you will have what is known as a ‘statutory excuse’.
You must make sure that you do not act in a discriminatory way with your checks, so the easiest method is to apply your checks to every potential employee and not make presumptions based on a persons background, appearance or accent. The important issue is to ensure you do check and can prove that you have done so.