Hefty fines for UK businesses employing non-EU migrant workers

There are a lot of businesses currently employing non-EU migrant workers in the UK and therefore it is extremely critical that employers carry out appropriate checks to ensure that employees have the correct visa to work and also to ensure that employees’ records are up to date. Failure to do so would result in hefty fines.

In January 2014, a factory in Slough was faced with a penalty of up to £120,000 for employing illegal workers following an operation by Immigration Officials. Officers arrested 12 Indian men aged between 25 and 51 years. All were working illegally and had either entered the country without leave to do so or had overstayed their visas. Nine of the men remain in immigration detention pending removal from the country.

A further house search revealed a 30 year old Indian man who had entered the country without leave to do so. He, along with the three other men from the factory, have been placed on immigration bail and will also face removal if found to have no right to remain in the UK.

At Edwin Coe we help businesses through the process of checking each employee’s visa status and undertake a full review of the employees’ records to ensure compliance with Immigration Rules.

For more information on this topic please contact the Edwin Coe Immigration Team.

Edwin Coe Immigration Law

Edwin Coe offer specialist immigration law services to both individuals and businesses. Our Immigration partner, Dhruti Thakrar, has been advising clients with respect to UK immigration Law for the last 17 years and is also a member of the UK Immigration Law Practitioner’s Association.

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