Employing Migrant Workers: Significant increase in fees and liabilities

The Home Secretary announced on 7 August 2023 that there will be a significant increase in civil penalties imposed on employers who allow illegal migrants to work for them. This follows the recommendations of the government’s immigration task force, which was launched at the start of 2023.

Civil penalties

It has always been important for employers to carry out the correct right-to-work checks on people they intend to employ. The checks can be done manually with original documentation or using the Home Office’s online system.

As well as a fine, employers who do not follow the rules risk criminal liability that could result in imprisonment for a period of up to five years.

Immigration enforcement activity has increased too, with a 50% uplift in the number of visits carried out by Home Office enforcement officers since 2022.

To put this into context, since 2018, almost 5,000 civil penalties have been issued to employers, with a total value of £88.4 million.

The fines that can be imposed on employers are soon to increase dramatically. From 2024 employers can be fined up to £45,000 per worker for first offences and £60,000 per worker for repeat offences. The current fine is £15,000 per worker for a first offence and £20,000 per worker for a repeat offence – so the new rules are effectively tripling these penalties.

But employers can protect themselves. They are excused from paying a civil penalty if they can demonstrate that they have undertaken the right to work checks and they retain the records to prove that those checks were conducted correctly.

Right to work checks

Right to work checks must be done BEFORE the employment begins. There are three steps that must be carried out:

• OBTAIN the employee’s original documents as prescribed in the Home Office guidance or check the applicant’s right to work online using the share code provided by the employee.
• CHECK (in the presence of the prospective employee, either in person or via live video link) that the employee has the right to work by performing a manual document check or an online right to work check.
• COPY the documents that have been manually checked; record the date of the check and the date for follow up checks, and retain copies of all those documents securely. For online checks, the profile page, which includes the individual’s photograph and date on which the check was conducted, must be retained.

 Increase to skilled worker visa fees

Workers who do not already have a right to work in the UK  will need to be sponsored by an employer before they can apply for permission to enter or remain in the UK to perform a job. The employer will need a sponsor licence.

On 13 July 2023, the government confirmed that the fees for work visas would increase by 15%. Certificates of sponsorship will also increase by at least 20%, and there will be an increase in the immigration health surcharge rate, which will go up to £1,035. The additional revenue generated by these fee increases is estimated to be in excess of a billion pounds and is intended to contribute to funding pay increases for public sector workers.

As yet, there has been no announcement about when the work visa fees will be increased. However, given the changes to the civil penalties above, it is anticipated that this will be early in 2024.

If you are an employer who wishes to apply for a licence to sponsor workers, consider making your application as soon as possible.

As soon as we know more we will provide further updates and we will be working with our commercial clients to ensure they have appropriate policies and staff are aware of the changes. If you have any questions or would like support in carrying out right to work checks, applying for sponsorship licences and ensuring you are fully aware of the changes and have an appropriate, fit for your business policies, please get in touch with the BLHR & Employment Team. We will be happy to discuss how we can help. We offer a fixed fee BLHR service.