New rules were introduced from 29 February 2008 by the Home Office in regard to employment of immigrants from outside the EU.

The new rules give increased penalties for employers employing illegal immigrants and a new ‘points’ system for deciding which employees can work in the UK.

The effects are:

An unlimited criminal fine/prison sentence of up to two years for employers who knowingly employ an illegal worker.

A civil penalty of up to £10,000 per employee if the appropriate checks were not made and the employer didn’t know that employment of the worker would be illegal.

There is also the difficult balance in making checks and committing a breach of race discrimination law. There is guidance on this aspect and more details on the rules on the Border and Immigration Agency website www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk

Visit www.lawgistics.co.uk or call 0870 26 77 118 for more information.