Employment of Illegal Workers

The civil penalty schemes for breaches of immigration law in England and Wales are primarily governed by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (IANA 2006) and the Immigration Act 2014. Under section 15 of the IANA 2006, employers can be penalised for employing individuals who are subject to immigration control and do not have the right to work in the UK. The maximum civil penalty for employing illegal workers tripled from £20,000 to £60,000 on 13 February 2024. The Home Office’s figures show that the number of penalties issued for the second quarter of 2024 amounted to £21.5 million, as opposed to £5.6 million in the same quarter of 2023 [Immigration Enforcement Data: Q3 2024].   This is almost a fourfold increase.