ADVICE
ADVICE
BUSINESS ADVICE
Home Office errors: Grounds for retailers
to challenge illegal working fines
Businesses face fines of up to £20,000 for every employee the Home Office finds to be illegally working.
But, as immigration lawyer ANNE MORRIS explains, the Home Office has a track record of failing to follow
processes correctly, meaning businesses often have grounds to have the fine cancelled
August 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
employers they consider to be in
breach. Retailers in particular
are a big focus for immigration
enforcement due to the high
numbers of foreign workers.
Larger retailers generally
fall foul of issues with
consistently
implementing
compliant processes across their
operations, whereas small and
independent businesses can be
at risk if they’re not up to speed
with their immigration duties,
often through a lack of time,
resource and understanding
of the current rules. Smaller
employers also tend to pay the
fine without question, making
them a more attractive target for
immigration enforcement.
What government figures
don’t reveal is how many of these
fines are successfully challenged
and subsequently cancelled, and
that there is potential for more
businesses to take on Home
Office fines.
‘‘
Civil penalties
have become a
lucrative income
stream for the
Home Office. In
the last quarter
of 2017, over
£11.5m in fines
were issued to
UK businesses
for illegal
working
‘‘
UK employers have a legal duty
to carry out document checks on
all employees, confirming their
right to work in the UK.
If the Home Office alleges an
employer has failed to perform
these checks properly, they can
issue a civil penalty for illegal
employment to the business for
up to £20,000 per illegal worker
– with no cap on the number of
fines that can be issued to any
one employer.
Civil penalties have become a
lucrative income stream for the
Home Office. In the last quarter
of 2017, over £11.5m in fines
were issued to UK businesses
for illegal working. During that
period, 624 UK businesses were
fined and 990 illegal workers
were found.
The
figures
show
that
businesses are struggling to meet
their immigration compliance
duties, and that the Home Office
is poised to target and fine those
RETAILERS TAKING ON THE
HOME OFFICE
Businesses can appeal a fine where
they can show valid grounds for
complaint against the Home
Office’s allegations. To monitor
employers, the Home Office
commonly uses site inspections
(or ‘immigration raids’). These
are often unannounced, with
immigration
enforcement
officials attending a business’
premises to inspect personnel
records and documentation and
to interview staff.
If they find evidence the business
does not have the necessary
paperwork for its workers,
and that employees are being
unlawfully employed, they can
issue a fine.
Site inspections can be hugely
stressful,
unpleasant
and
invasive for employers. After
the ordeal of the inspection,
and
concerned
about
the
gravity of the allegations and
the tight timeframes involved,
it’s understandable that many
business owners just pay the
fine. But the civil penalty could
be an unnecessary and avoidable
cost because the Home Office
may not have its own paperwork
in order or have followed the
correct procedure.
The Home Office is cancelling
fines where businesses can show
that Home Office has failed to
meet its own standards during an
investigation and inspection. The
irony is clear – how can businesses
be fined for incorrect paperwork
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