Immigration
Home Secretary announces new intelligence driven illegal working programme
Summary
The UK’s Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has announced that there will be a “major surge in immigration enforcement activity” and outlined a number of new measures to tackle illegal working. This is part of the government’s plans to strengthen the UK’s borders and ensure the UK’s Immigration Rules are “respected and enforced”.
The Detail
The two measures that will impact you as an employer are that there will be:
- a new intelligence-driven illegal working programme to target, investigate and take down employers who illegally employ those who do not have the right to work in the UK;
- sanctions to be taken against employers who hire workers illegally.
- The Government has promised a range of sanctions, including financial penalty notices, business closure orders and potential prosecution against those employing illegal workers. In addition, the Home Office has appointed Bas Javid as the Director General for Immigration Enforcement with the support of the newly formed Border Security Command. We expect more details to be announced in Autumn however please do reach out to our compliance team at immigrationcompliance@vialto.com or your Vialto point of contact if you would like to discuss the details behind the announcement.
Contact us
Lyudmyla Davies
Partner (Solicitor)
Ian Robinson
Partner
Andrea Als
Director (Solicitor)
Tom Marsom
Director (Solicitor)
Lucy Vaux
Senior Manager (Solicitor)