Baroness Scotland and illegal workers – a warning to employers

Monday, 28 September 2009 00:00

Martin Laver of Tozers employment team says: "This is a clear warning to employers that the rules on employing staff do not provide any leniency even if a breach is only a minor one as in this case.

The legislation provides a statutory defence to employing someone who is not entitled to work in the UK but each and every requirement of the defence must be present before it can be relied upon successfully. The rules can be complicated and unfortunately Baroness Scotland omitted to photocopy the appropriate paperwork. As a result of this seemingly minor point, the defence was not available and the £5,000 fine was imposed.

It is worth noting that the maximum fine is £10,000 for employing an illegal worker and fines imposed on employers in breach of the rules are imposed per illegal employee making it all the more important to ensure compliance before the employee starts work."

Please click on this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_8260000/newsid_8268100/8268101.stm

Tozers advises businesses on all aspects of employing foreign workers and have particular expertise in the areas of social landlords, leisure and tourism. Tozers employment team can be contacted on 01392 207020 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .