Directors of construction firms hiring casual staff without checking their right to work could face jail terms under a government crackdown announced today.<\/p>\n
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced new laws and increased enforcement efforts to tackle illegal employment in the UK.<\/p>\n
Checks would be mandatory for zero-hours workers under the plan, as they already are for permanent staff.<\/p>\n
Those failing to carry out the correct processes face the same penalties already in place for those negligently hiring illegal workers in traditional roles, including fines of up to \u00a360,000 per worker, business closures, director disqualifications and prison sentences of up to five years.<\/p>\n
Build UK chief executive Suzannah Nichol told Construction News <\/em>that today’s announcement \u201cwill be a significant change for construction\u201d.<\/p>\n But she added: \u201cWe have yet to see the detail of the requirements to determine who within the supply chain will have the legal obligation to check but wherever the responsibility ends up it will be additional duties for employers.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone will need to be ready for when the legislation comes in to force knowing who is working for them (whatever their employment status) and that they have the right to work in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed changes form an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill<\/a> that is working its way through Parliament.<\/p>\n Cooper said: \u201cWe are restoring order to the asylum and immigration system by introducing tougher laws and bolstering enforcement action to tackle illegal working and stop rogue employers in their tracks.<\/p>\n \u201cTurning a blind eye to illegal working plays into the hands of callous people smugglers trying to sell spaces on flimsy, overcrowded boats with the promise of work and a life in the UK.<\/p>\n \u201cThese exploitative practices are often an attempt to undercut competitors who are doing the right thing. But we are clear that the rules need to be respected and enforced.\u201d<\/p>\n Home Office guidance<\/a> says an employer who employs someone under a contract of employment, service or apprenticeship, whether express or implied and whether oral or in writing, must carry out certain checks to establish a \u201cstatutory excuse\u201d and avoid a civil penalty if that person is found to be working illegally.<\/p>\n It adds: \u201cYou are strongly encouraged to check that your contractors and labour providers carry out right-to-work checks in accordance with this guidance on people they employ, engage or supply (or carry out these checks yourself). This includes anyone in your supply chain using a substitute to perform work on their behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n Detailed instructions as to which checks are appropriate in different circumstances, and how to ensure they are done correctly, is included in the guidance.<\/p>\n The Home Office added that from May, body-worn cameras would be rolled out to officers \u201con the front line\u201d of the war against illegal work.<\/p>\n Immigration enforcement teams have carried out 6,784 illegal working visits to premises since July 2024, up 40 per cent from the same period a year earlier.<\/p>\n They have made 4,779 arrests \u2013 an increase of 42 per cent \u2013 and more than 1,500 civil penalty notices have been issued.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, foreign criminals who the UK Government has been unable to deport could be hit with electronic tags, night-time curfews and exclusion zones.<\/p>\n A teenager was among 36 people arrested earlier this month<\/a> on suspicion of working illegally on a construction site in Belfast.<\/p>\n