Employing Foreign Workers Legally - Are You Meeting The Law?
As part of a small
business you are probably aware of just how
much red tape is involved in employing,
training and paying workers; and that amount
is even higher when employing workers from
outside the UK.
However, after the Home
Office announced raids in London targeting
several businesses that were employing
foreign workers ineligible to
work in the UK; you should take the
time to check that you are legally allowed
to employ any foreign workers you may have
or be looking to hire.
Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said "We
will not be a soft touch for those in
Britain illegally. In fact we will shut down
illegal jobs and take action against dodgy
employers. We're doubling our enforcement
resources, and now remove an immigration
offender every eight minutes. "We are also
working hard to make it easier for companies
to check whether someone is here legally -
but at the same time we have vowed to come
down hard on companies that break the rules
or turn a blind eye."
Earlier this year the Home Office announced
an action plan to target rogue employers.
Over the summer the department has been in
talks with industry on the implementation of
tough new legislation - including prison
sentences and/or unlimited fines for rogue
employers. These new fines will be placed
before Parliament for approval later this
month.
A huge number of small
businesses struggle to understand the
numerous and complex laws that can change
drastically depending on the country that
the potential employee comes from. With
large numbers of employees now coming from
Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland; there are
plenty of businesses taking on foreign
employees for the first time.
BizHelp24 recently
created a guide on the subject to help show
you what needs to be done, and the statutory
processes you should go through to help
protect your business if one of your
(thoroughly checked!) employees turns out to
be ineligible for work.
The guide “Employing Foreign Workers
Legally” is available freely from BizHelp24
here.
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