Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Employment lawLatest NewsEconomics, government & businessDepartment for Work and PensionsRecruitment & retention

40% of fines for employing illegal workers not paid

by Personnel Today 9 Nov 2009
by Personnel Today 9 Nov 2009

More than four out of 10 fines imposed on companies for hiring illegal workers remain unpaid.

Of the 3,164 illegal labour penalties handed out to firms – mainly restaurants and takeaways – by the UK Border Agency over the past 18-months, 1,301 have yet to be collected.

About £6.5m in fines are believed to be outstanding, while the average fine imposed on guilty employers was £5,000, half the maximum penalty.

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman who released the figures, called on the government to tighten fine-collection procedures to ensure firms could not flout the rules, the Daily Telegraph reported.

He said: “The government has belatedly got round to identifying unscrupulous employers who profit from the exploitation of illegal workers. It seems when they do find them there are no guarantees that they can get them to cough up any of these profits.

“We need to clamp down on rogue employers and the only way to do this is to make sure that they pay the fines they are given.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are determined to crack down on illegal workers and those who employ them, and the civil penalty system is one of the ways we are doing that.”

The civil penalty system was introduced in February 2008 and forced employers to pay a sliding scale of penalties based on how diligently they researched their employees’ backgrounds.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The spokesman added: “Since the system was introduced… we have issued over 3,000 fines and recovered millions of pounds. The majority of unpaid penalties are still subject to objections and pending appeals.”

In August the UK Border Agency revealed that restaurant chains including Pizza Hut and Chez Gerard, and the oil firm BP, were among the firms fined under the new rules.

Personnel Today

previous post
Win Jimmy Choo shoes or a designer watch with XpertHR at the CIPD Conference 2009
next post
Women MPs in revolt over plans to scrap childcare tax breaks

You may also like

MPs demand Home Office tighten visas to protect...

4 Jul 2025

100% success for latest large-scale four-day week trial

3 Jul 2025

NHS 10-year Health Plan sets out vision for...

3 Jul 2025

Microsoft to cut 9,000 jobs globally as role...

3 Jul 2025

Decline in workplace deaths: falls from height remain...

3 Jul 2025

How can HR prepare for changes to the...

3 Jul 2025

Data skills gap getting in way of AI...

3 Jul 2025

Top 10 HR questions June 2025: Redundancy consultation

2 Jul 2025

Aircrew with cancer pursuing MoD for compensation –...

2 Jul 2025

Living wage pushes up spring pay settlements

2 Jul 2025

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+