Archive for the ‘Right to Work in the UK’ Category
By Sarah - Thursday, August 27th, 2009
When recruiting employers need to ensure that as part of their recruitment checks they obtain proof of the right to work in the UK under the Asylum and Immigration Act. This should be done as routine and not just to those of a particular colour, race or nationality.
The UK Border Agency has revealed that over 1,100 companies have been fined a total of almost £10 million in the last 16 months for flouting the rules. Each company paid out an average of £5,000 in a fine which is half the maximum penalty. The worst offenders were the restaurant and takeaway industry and given the amount of overseas labour found in such establishments this comes as no surprise. Amongst the big names that have fallen foul of the law are Pizza Hut, Chez Gerard, G4S and BP. Some companies were caught out at different locations.
Posted in Right to Work in the UK | No comments »
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By Olivia - Monday, August 3rd, 2009
A recurring topic on which we are often asked to advise concerns employer’s obligations when hiring foreign nationals. The concern is twofold. First, that it is now an offence (under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) for employers to employ those whose immigration status precludes them from working in the U.K. Secondly, in seeking to avoid liability under the Act, employers may treat job applicatns from ethnic minorities differently to other applicants giving rise to race discrimination claims.
To assist, the Home Office Code of Practice is worth a read as it details exactly your responsibilities as an employer and what documents you can rely upon to establish that the job applicant is entitled to work in the U.K. It also gives easy to read advice on monitoring applications and avoiding race discrimination claims.
For any advice required beyond the scope of the Code of Practice do let us know.
Posted in Right to Work in the UK, Sex/Race Discrimination | 1 comment »
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By Sarah - Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
New laws were introduced in February 2008 which put the onus on employers to ensure that staff were legally entitled to work in the UK. If an employer cannot prove they have carried out the necessary checks then they can face fines of upto £10,000 for each worker.
Since the legislation was introduced over 233 firms have been prosecuted for employing illegal immigrants and over £3.4 million has been dished out in fines according to Home Office figures.
Some of our Plc clients have faced Home Office Audits to ensure compliance. Some clients have introduced a policy where they will not put staff on the payroll until payroll have received confirmation from management that proof of entitlement has been seen. It is of course worth remembering that if you ask for proof you need to ask every applicant to avoid any claims over race, nationality etc.
You can review previous blogs on the subject of right to work in the UK but let us have your stories and comment.
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By Emma - Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
It will probably not have escaped your notice that following investigations by the BBC and the Observer newspaper it has been alleged that a Primark knitwear supplier, TNS Knitwear, based in Manchester employs illegal migrant workers and pays them £3 per hour for working up to 12 hours per day, 7 days a week. For more see here.
Oh dear. This is problematic on a number of counts if proved. Employing migrant workers is a minefield and employers face civil and criminal sanctions, including hefty fines, if they employ migrant workers unlawfully. Then there’s the minimum wage to consider - £3 per hour is almost half the current rate of £5.73 for workers aged 22 and above. And then there’s the small issue of working an 84 hour week. Wonder if they’ve been asked to sign an opt out from the Working Time Regulations…
Don’t forget we can advise you if you have any queries about employing migrant workers, or, of course, the minimum wage or Working Time Regulations.
Posted in Business Immigration, National Minimum Wage, Right to Work in the UK, Working Time Regs | No comments »
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By Emma - Monday, August 4th, 2008
It has almost certainly not escaped your notice that business immigration law in the UK is undergoing a huge overhaul. Parts of the new Points Based System (PBS) are already in force and others are on their way.
It is looking likely that Tier 2 of the PBS which replaces (amongst other things) the current work permit regime will be brought in before the end of this year. This requires employers to apply for a sponsor licence. It is already possible to apply for a licence and wise to apply as soon as possible in readiness for November as it could take some time for a licence to be approved. If you employ migrant workers without a licence once the new system has come in you may be liable to an unlimited fine or a prison sentence of up to 2 years or both!
The UK Border Agency issued last week updated guidance (totalling 130 pages!) for sponsors. See here for more.
Posted in Business Immigration, Right to Work in the UK | No comments »
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By Emma - Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Not content with the new laws brought in at the end of February to prosecute employers who employ illegal workers the Home Office has announced a new initiative designed to crack down on the hiring of people without the right to work in the UK. As of today the names of businesses who break the rules and employ illegal workers will be named and shamed on the Home Office’s UK Border Agency’s website. See more here.
Remember we can help you ensure you meet Home Office requirements relating to your employees’ right to work in the UK. We can advise on the documentation you need to obtain to satisfy yourselves about an employee’s immigration status and we can also advise on ways it might be possible to obtain permission for someone to work for you if they are not able to currently.
Posted in Business Immigration, Right to Work in the UK | No comments »
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By Sarah - Tuesday, June 5th, 2007
The EAT last week gave Judgment on an interesting case involving the explotation of foreign workers (in this case a Nigerian student working in a hotel). The Nigerian worker had permission to work in the UK albeit the employer hadn’t bothered to check this point. He had also failed to pay the worker the national minimum wage and that his failing to do so was on the basis of his race as he was vunerable to exploitation. When the worker told his employer he wanted to get a NI number and pay taxes his employer discouraged him from doing so telling him that ”You go ahead and pay tax, but I do not pay tax and do not intend to pay tax.” This clearly did not go down well with the Tribunal and things got worse for the employer when it was found that he then dismissed the worker for this fact. The original tribunal upheld the workers complaints of direct race discrimination, unlawful deduction from wages and breach of contract. His complaint of unfair dismissal was not upheld. The Tribunal then went on to award a total of £19,000 including £8,000 for injury to feelings and a £1,000 aggravated damages award. There was also a 40% uplift awarded for the employer’s failure to follow the statutory dismissal procedure. The employer appealed against the finding of race discrmination and the amount of the award. He lost on both counts and the Judgment makes quite interesting reading. The original Tribunal and the employers attitude to tax and the NMW would have also made interesting watching!
Posted in Right to Work in the UK, Sex/Race Discrimination | No comments »
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By Philip - Wednesday, March 7th, 2007
The Home Office have today launched a new policy aimed at tackling illegal migrants in the UK. Employers have an obligation to ensure that all employees have the right to work in the UK and the new policy will ensure that there is greater co-operation between government departments. There will be new Workplace Enforcement Teams who will attempt to track down companies employing people who should not be in the country. But wait for it - the Government are going to text people after April and tell them that their visas are due to expire and that they need to make arrangements to leave the UK. What a brilliant idea, I am sure that will work and I am surpised nobody thought of that before!!
Posted in Right to Work in the UK | 2 comments »
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