Avoiding Civil and Criminal Penalties
Now more than ever, employers have to ensure that they carry out the government-prescribed document checks when hiring new employees. Failing to do so exposes employers to high civil penalties and since 12 July 2016, possible criminal prosecution. The statutory excuse The law does not explicitly require employers to perform document checks on all new employees. […]
Biometric Residence Permit Checks
When hiring citizens from countries outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), UK employers must carry out biometric residence permit checks to confirm work entitlements of each applicant and avoid the possibility of a civil penalty for illegal employment. All other documents, such as the vignette printed in the job applicant’s passport, are considered insufficient proof […]
New Criminal Offences for Employing Illegal Workers
From 12 July 2016 employers face hefty fines and significant jail terms if there is ‘reasonable cause to believe’ they have been employing illegal workers. Before these amendments an employer could plead ignorance when it came to employing illegal workers. Employers would only have criminal charges brought against them if it could be proved they […]
Are you an illegal immigrant?
In September 2012, the UK Border Agency intend to announce a new databsae to track illegal immigrants. We understand that the new system is to enable UKBA to reduce the backlog and to remove people quickly. Immigration minister Damian Green, states “We’re concentrating much more on enforcement,” he said. “From debrief interviews we’ve found that […]