Preventing Illegal Working and Renting – are you carrying out the correct checks?

Fines are to be more than tripled for employers and landlords who allow illegal migrants to work for them or rent their properties, in the biggest shake up of civil penalties since 2014. 

 

All employers and landlords, regardless of size, are under a legal duty to prevent illegal working and renting and can be subjected to penalties where they fail to do so. Employing someone illegally can have significant consequences for employers and their staff, from criminal prosecutions, fines, and even the forced closure of the business. Since 2018, almost 5000 civil penalties have been issued to employers with a total value of £88.4 million. 

 

The government has announced that the penalty for employing illegal workers will be raised to up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach (from £15,000), and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches (from £20,000). Clearly, now is not the time for you to be taking any risks and failing to carry out these basic but essential checks. 

 

They have also announced the fines will increase for landlords from £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier for a first breach to up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier. Repeat breaches will be up to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier, up from £500 and £3,000 respectively. 

 

Should you carry out the appropriate checks (repeating them, when necessary, where the right to work is time limited), you will have a ‘statutory excuse’ from the above penalties (i.e. a defence). This means that even if new information later comes to light and it transpires that the individual did in fact not have the right to work in the UK, the statutory excuse will mean there won’t be liability for you for having employed the individual illegally. 

 

These changes will come into effect from the beginning of 2024. If you need the proactive support of experts, our HR and Payroll team can help – contact linda@riverviewportfolio.co.uk 

 

#illegalworker #payroll #hr