The government has announced that employers will face stricter consequences for committing immigration offences, as part of a wide-ranging crackdown.
In its recent announcement, the government confirmed that businesses who repeatedly commit immigration or employment breaches will be barred from hiring overseas workers, as part of wider efforts to clamp down on illegal working and the exploitation of overseas workers.
Stricter sanctions for employers committing immigration offences
Employer sanctions on recruiting international workers will increase from 12 months to at least two years where there are repeat offences, and final cooling off periods are expected to be announced in due course.
The announcement states that new measures will ensure that the government will not wait until employers have actually committed a serious breach of the law before taking action. In particular, this will be relevant where there are already historical and current signs of employers breaking the rules.
For employers who commit minor breaches, there are currently government action plans in place, which allow businesses to improve and correct issues. The government will be increasing the duration of these action plans from three to 12 months, and during this period, employers will have their ability to bring in overseas workers restricted. If the business fails to comply with the action plan or make improvements, their sponsor licence will be revoked.
As part of this announcement, the government have also confirmed that a range of sanctions will be taken against those who are found to be employing illegal workers, including financial penalty notices, business closure orders and potential prosecution.
These changes are expected to be made alongside the new Employment Rights Bill which is currently going through Parliament.
Compliance action
The announcement also highlighted the increase in compliance action being taken, stating that the government has:
"...delivered a major surge in Immigration Enforcement's targeted visits to rogue businesses suspected of employing illegal workers, with 856 visits in October alone – a 55% increase on the same month last year. Between January and October this year, more than 6,600 visits have been made, and 22% increase on the same period last year, with over 4,600 arrests being made, up 21% on last year.
...Since July 2022, the government has revoked approximately 450 sponsor licences in the care sector as the government continues to clamp down on abuse."
It goes on to say that fifteen regional partnerships in England have received £16 million in funding, to prevent and respond to these issues taking place in the care sector, such as by helping international care workers understand their rights, and supporting workers to switch employers where their current employer has had their sponsor licence revoked.
The issues raised above are not only prevalent in the care sector, and all employers should be aware of the serious consequences of breaching immigration rules.
Company director receives seven year directorship ban
Similarly to our commentary in October, last week, a press release from The Insolvency Service confirmed that the owner of a former Turkish restaurant, who was found to be employing three illegal workers, has been banned from being a company director for seven years.
During an Immigration Enforcement visit, it was found that two workers did not have the right to work in the UK, and the other only had the right to work in the UK as a plumber.
In addition to the directorship ban, the company was fined £45,000 for the immigration breaches, and the local council also revoked the premises licence as a result of the findings. The restaurant closed later that year, in 2023.
These recent announcements underpin the importance for employers to comply with the immigration rules, and for organisations who hold a sponsor licence to ensure compliance with their sponsor duties.
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