£10,000 fine for employing illegal workers

Businesses that employ immigrant staff who are not legally entitled to work will risk large fines, after new legislation comes into effect tomorrow.

Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act, employers who 'negligently' hire illegal foreign workers could be subject to a fine of up to £10,000 per worker. Those found to have knowingly done so could face unlimited fines and a prison sentence of up to two years.

According to BBC News, the Home Office says that the new rules will allow it to resort to criminal prosecutions in only the most serious cases.

Small businesses have reacted angrily, however. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that the law requires employers to understand up to 13 different forms of identification, including recognising the passports of the 27 EU member states.

"It is totally unfair to expect small business owners to act as immigration officers and then threaten them with huge fines if they slip up," said FSB employment chairman Alan Tyrrell. "It is doubly unfair when the Government then fails to adequately publicise the new rules."

"Immigration policy and the implementation of it is a matter for the government, not for small business owners," he added.

"Expecting small employers to understand and implement complicated immigration rules is ludicrous. The guidance notes alone for this piece of legislation run to nearly thirty pages."