This week sees a notable reminder that no employer is above being fined for breaching immigration requirements, as the UK Border Agency fines Baroness Scotland £5,000 for employing a migrant who didn’t have the right to work in the United Kingdom.
The Attorney General Baroness Scotland helped to take the legislation on employing illegal workers through Parliament when she was a Home Office minister.
Lin Homer, Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency, said the Agency was satisfied that Baroness Scotland did not knowingly employ an illegal worker.
The investigation showed that Baroness Scotland had checked the employee’s documents provided to her as proof of right to work in the UK but she didn’t keep copies of them as the law requires employers to do.
Lin Homer commented: “Our priority in enforcement against employers is to identify employers who knowingly flout the rules, often on a continual basis and often on a large scale. However, under immigration law any employer found to have employed people with no right to work here can face a civil penalty.
“A variable rate of fine can be imposed depending on the circumstances of a case. Employers who co-operate with investigations, as in this case, who have no previous record of employing people illegally, or who can show they made some effort to check the status of an employee, are not normally fined at the maximum level of £10,000.
“In this case we have assessed the appropriate level of penalty to be £5,000. The fine is in line with the level of fines imposed on other employers.
“This case serves to remind all employers that they are responsible not only for checking the immigration status of their staff but for retaining proof of the documents checked.
“Where illegal workers are knowingly employed we will take action, and employers could face a criminal prosecution or a civil penalty. The wider investigation is ongoing.”
Comments Anne Morris of Davidson Morris Solicitors which advises employers on immigration matters: “This lady has no excuse. The fact is if you’re unsure which documents are necessary, it’s your duty to pick up the phone and check. As the Attorney General she therefore absolutely should have made sure this was done.
“The Home Office daily publishes penalties against organisations that have failed to meet their requirements, so this incident should serve as a reminder to all employers that they have an overriding duty to get it right.
She adds: “There is help out there. We have been advising employers on the new points based immigration system to help ensure that mistakes such as this don’t happen.”
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Anne Morris and Head of HR at Workplace Law Jayn Bond, will be holding an Immigration and Asylum Workshop on 22 October, which is designed to highlight the legal pitfalls and increased risk of negligence claims under the new system whilst at the same time providing practical guidance for employers.
