REC welcomes new sanctions on illegal working

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has welcomed the Government's announcement of tougher sanctions for employers and agencies wilfully employing or placing illegal workers.

At the same time, the REC has called on the Home Office to continue focusing on improved services for legitimate businesses seeking information and guidance on the appropriate checks.

Commenting on the new sanctions, the REC's Head of Public Policy Anne Fairweather says: It is crucial to ensure that there is an effective deterrent and that a clear message is sent to rogue labour providers and employers that knowingly employ illegal workers and often use this to undercut legitimate businesses.

ìThe drive for effective enforcement is gaining momentum in a number of areas and is something that the REC has actively campaigned for. At the same time, we will continue to monitor the quality of guidance offered to legitimate businesses and the Home Office's responsiveness when irregularities are flagged up by agencies.

The REC has led a pro-active campaign over the last few years calling for tougher sanctions and effective enforcement against rogue labour providers. The Home Office announcement follows confirmation by the Department for Business, Entrepreneurship and Regulatory Reform (BERR) that greater sanctions and enforcement mechanisms would also be implemented with regards to the Employment Agency Act (EAA) Regulations.

In announcing the new civil penalties and enforcement measures, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: By stamping out illegal working, we are making the UK a less attractive destination for illegal migration. The new civil penalties are a more effective way of dealing with employers who use slipshod or exploitative recruitment methods.

ìTogether with the introduction of compulsory identity cards for foreign nationals next year, there can be no excuse for not checking the identity of those applying for jobs. By working together with employers and others we have developed a system that delivers the migrants the UK needs, but which also keeps out those that it does not.

The new measures to prevent illegal working take effect in February and include a maximum fine of 10,000 for each illegal worker negligently hired by an employer or placed on assignment by an agency.

If employers are found to have knowingly hired illegal workers they could incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison. Other initiatives being launched next year include compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals.

The REC is represented on a number of Home Office working groups such as the Illegal Workers Stakeholders Group and will continue to take forward the views and concerns of recruitment professionals in the front line of the UK labour market.