Employment law experts at UK law firm Dundas & Wilson have warned that company directors who turn a blind eye to illegal immigrant workers in their organisations could face a two-year jail term under tough new employment legislation being introduced on Friday (February 29).
David Walker, an employment law partner at D&W, said the Government was committed to more stringent enforcement of the new laws using simplified procedures, with immigration officers able to issue parking ticket-style notices for certain offences.
The new criminal sanctions introduced by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 will also include unlimited fines for each illegal worker. On top of this, a new civil offence will be created carrying penalties of up to 10,000 for every breach.
More thorough document checks ñ including annual checks for all immigrant employees who have permission to work for a fixed period - will pile additional pressure on employers which employ immigrants, as part of the crackdown on illegal working.
David Walker said: ìThis isnít something which businesses can ignore, but itís more than likely that the prospect of a two-year prison sentence in serious cases will focus the mind.
îIf the Government keeps its promise, this legislation will be much more rigidly enforced than the existing regime which means we should see a rise in the number of prosecutions under the new civil and stricter criminal procedures..î
The current criminal laws are to be repealed, with the new legislation creating an offence of ëknowinglyí employing an illegal worker, reflected in the harsher penalties ñ previously the worst-case scenario was a 5,000 fine.
An organisation is to be treated as knowing an employee does not have permission to work if a person with responsibility for an aspect of the employment is aware of it. Directors, managers, partners or anyone else responsible for the management of an organisation can be liable for the offence if it is undertaken with their ëconsent or connivanceí.
David Walker said: ìRogue directors or other senior executives canít pretend not to know about illegal workers ñ it just wonít wash under the new regime.
ìIt might seem like another frustrating layer of administration, but the message is clear: illegal working is high on the Governmentís list of targets and if employers are found not to have checked the appropriate paperwork then the repercussions could be severe.î
Employers face jail over new migrant worker laws
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