Check an Existing Employee’s Right to Work
Most UK employers are aware of the requirement to conduct a right to work check on every new recruit, but follow-up checks on existing staff can often get overlooked or forgotten altogether in the day-to-day running of an organisation. The following guide on right to work in the UK existing employees examines the rules around follow-up […]
How to Check Someone’s Immigration Status
Foreign nationals must hold valid immigration status to be able to live and work legally in the UK. Employers are required by law to verify the immigration status of all workers or face Home Office enforcement action. In this guide, we look at how to check someone’s immigration status before you hire them, when further […]
When an Employee Loses their Right to Work
If you become aware that an employee has lost their right to work, your next steps will be critical to ensure you do not breach your duties. Duty to prevent illegal working It is worth reminding that all UK employers operate under a duty to prevent illegal working. Failure to meet your duties under […]
Illegal Immigration in the Workplace
As a UK employer you are under a duty to prevent illegal immigration by carrying out right to work checks. In this way you can ensure that both prospective and existing employees are lawfully allowed to work in the UK and undertake the work on offer. Any failure to carry out these document checks correctly, […]
How to Manage Recruitment Immigration Risks
UK employers face increasing recruitment immigration risks when hiring non-UK nationals Between July – September 2016 alone, UKVI issued £10.2million in fines to UK employers for illegal working. For employers, the option of recruiting from the global talent market can be critical to maintaining operations and, importantly, competitive advantage. But the penalties for employing illegal workers and […]
Immigration Compliance – A Measure of Success
Top tips for measuring immigration compliance cost, return and performance levels There is clearly value to any organisation of avoiding non-compliance with its immigration duties and the resulting consequences – civil penalties, operational disruption, reputational harm. Beyond this, in support of demonstrating value and return on a wider global mobility programme, immigration compliance offers significant […]
Employing EU Citizens in the UK
New rules on employing EU citizens came into force in the UK from 1 January 2021. For UK employers, the changes impact how you recruit and onboard EU nationals, requiring you to ensure the organisation is properly licensed and legally compliant in verifying EU workers’ Right to Work in the UK. Hiring EU nationals […]
3 Signs of Breaching Immigration Duties
The Home Office’s tough, low-tolerance stance toward illegal working contuses to push immigration compliance high up the business risk agenda. UKVI has extensive powers to investigate and enforce illegal employment issues across all sectors and types of organisation. Civil penalties also provide a welcome income stream for the Home Office. UK employers should be under no […]
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. […]
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 […]