Immigrant Workers

It is a criminal offence to employ a person who does not have a legal entitlement to work in the UK.

The maximum an employer can be fined is £5000 for each person employed illegally.

After 1 May 2004, the following documents will no longer provide the employer with a Section.8 defence:

• A Home Office Standard Acknowledgement Letter or Immigration Service Letter (IS 96W), which states that the asylum seeker can work in the UK;
• A letter issued by the Home Office stating that the holder is a British Citizen;
• A passport describing the holder as a British Dependent Territories Citizen, which states the holder has a connection with Gibraltar;
• A short birth certificate issued in the United Kingdom that does not have details of the holder’s parents;
• A card or certificate issued by the Inland Revenue under the Construction Industry Scheme.

There are specific documents that can be offered as evidence, but these must be chosen from lists published by the Home Office. For more information, go to www.workingintheuk.gov.uk.

Back