Businesses
that employ illegal workers could soon be subject to unlimited fines.
Changes
to the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Bill will mean that
businesses charged with employing illegal staff could face unlimited fines
should the case end up in the crown court. At the moment, any company caught
employing illegal workers can only be tried in a magistrate’s court, with a
maximum fine of £5,000. The Home Office hopes it will become law by the end of
the year. Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, said
the changes would put more pressure on employers already confused by their
duties regarding foreign labour. "More legislative incontinence has been
visited on [immigration] than anywhere else," he said.
