Employing illegal workers can be costly

Employers need to ensure that they carry out right to work checks correctly, says Adam Bernstein

Illegal immigration and illegal working are topics that are high on the agenda for the Government. With stories of immigrants attempting Channel crossings and data published by the Government over illegal workers caught, employers do need to understand their obligations when taking on staff. The penalties are too stiff to ignore. Indeed, at the start of August 2023 the Government announced a tripling of the penalties from 2024.

Checks required

Shabana Muneer, a director at Walker Morris, outlines that to work in the UK an individual must have the legal right to work, which now – post-Brexit – means “they must be a British or Irish citizen or have a UK immigration status which permits them to undertake employment.” She adds that “some immigration statuses will come with a conditional right to work – in certain roles, or for a certain number of hours per week.”

And for Mark Stevens, a senior associate at VWV, it’s important to recognise that every employer has a duty to prevent illegal working. In practice, he says that “this means that an employer must carry out checks to ensure that employees have the appropriate right to work in the UK; it is unlawful to employ someone who does not have the appropriate right or who is in breach of the terms of their visa.”