Employing illegal immigrants could lead to £60k fines

UK to raise fines for hiring illegal immigrants to £45,000 for 1st breach and £60,000 for repeat offenses, starting 2024. Consultations on further actions planned.

Employers are to face much higher fines if they hire illegal immigrants, under a new crackdown by the government. The civil penalty for employers, which was last increased in 2014, will be raised from £15,000 to up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach, and from £20,000 up to £60,000 for repeat breaches. The higher penalties will come in at the start of 2024.

Later this year the Home Office will consult on options to strengthen action against licensed businesses employing illegal workers. Since the start of 2018, almost 5,000 civil penalties have been issued to employers with a total value of £88.4m. Minister for Immigration Robert Jenrick said: “Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings. There is no excuse for not conducting the appropriate checks and those in breach will now face significantly tougher penalties. It also undercuts honest employers, puts vulnerable people at risk of exploitation, cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment and defrauds the public purse as the businesses and workers do not pay taxes.” Mr Jenrick said employers should already be checking the eligibility of anyone they employ. “There are a number of ways to do this, which are not changing, including via a manual check of original documentation and a Home Office online checking system. The online check takes only 5 minutes.”

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