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Employing illegal immigrants
15/04/2008

The Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 came into effect on 29 February 2008 and is already having a visible impact on many of our clients.

Under the new legislation, it is now a criminal offence to knowingly employ an illegal worker, and anyone guilty of this offence may face up to 2 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.

Secondly, there is a new civil offence of negligently hiring an illegal worker, which carries a fine of up to £10,000 for anyone found guilty of wrongdoing.

These new rules create an extra burden on employers, many of whom are now faced with having to dedicate significant time and resources to ensuring their practices and procedures meet the new criteria for the hiring of non-UK staff. It is hoped that once the new legislation has bedded down, businesses will be able to have greater certainty about who they employ.

We act for a number of employment businesses that frequently engage and/or employ migrant workers as temps and contractors. Such businesses will be hardest hit because of the numbers of staff involved, but it is vital they are not left vulnerable to allegations of employing an illegal migrant worker.

Whilst they are used to obtaining paperwork to show that someone has the right to work in the UK, they are concerned about the use of the word "employed", as it may sometimes imply they are liable under the offences, and as such, they are having to work hard to ensure that their systems are robust enough to ensure compliance.

In order to take a proactive and responsible approach to the new laws, a number of clients have begun training specific individuals in their offices to be responsible for ensuring compliance, thus changing the face of their operations in real terms.

We have also amended a number of contracts for clients to assist in trying to clarify the position in respect of liability. Having already seen numerous businesses raising queries in this area, particularly with regard to checking information and records for new workers, we expect this trend to continue in the foreseeable future.


For further information contact Andy Cross at Brabners Chaffe Street on

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