Monday, September 24, 2007
With 50,000 applications in the pipeline from Eastern European workers and an estimated 10,000 Romanian and Bulgarian workers entering the UK between March and June 2007, the government has put forward tough new measures to deal with illegal immigrants.
The EU and UK authorities have warned of a crackdown on employers using illegal immigrants, with the possibility of fines of up to £10,000 if businesses fail to ensure that workers are legally entitled to work in the UK.
Under these proposals, employers could also be forced to pay any unpaid taxes and social security benefits claimed, as well as the whole of the cost to deport illegal immigrants caught working for them. In certain cases an unlimited fine and a term of imprisonment could also be imposed on the employer. Firms could also be barred from tendering for public sector contracts.