The Home Office has revealed that Lincolnshire-based contractor Sword Construction could face a penalty of up to £400,000 after 20 illegal workers were discovered on one of its sites in Chester.
The fine is the largest that could result from the arrests of illegal workers during Operation Magnify, a Home Office drive to stamp out illegal working in the construction, care and cleaning industries.
The first phase of the drive, tackling construction, resulted in 257 arrests from 69 enforcement visits to sites made between 11 and 18 October. Arrests were made at building sites and residential addresses.
The operation involved officers from the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement division working with other government agencies including HMRC, the HSE and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.
Around two thirds of the construction workers arrested were Indian nationals, with other nationalities including Albanians, Pakistanis and Nigerians also arrested. Steps are now being taken to remove those arrested from the UK.
Chris Blythe CIOB chief executive said: “If Operation Magnify had failed to identify any illegal workers in the construction industry, then immigration enforcement would be looking elsewhere. As it is Operation Magnify outcomes clearly demonstrate that the construction industry will prove to be fertile ground for the immigration enforcement teams from the Home Office for some time to come.
“The pitfalls of employing illegal workers are clear and does the industry no favours. It is another example where a small number of employers damage the image and reputation of the rest of the industry by not obeying the law.”
Of the 257 people arrested during the week of action in the construction industry, 119 had overstayed their visas (with Tier 4 general student and family visit visas being the most common types breached), 127 did not have a visa at all and the remaining 11 were arrested for other immigration offences.
Immigration Enforcement officers also issued referral notices to nine businesses – including Sword – warning that they may be liable for financial penalties of up to £20,000 per illegal worker arrested.
These employers have 10 days to provide documentary evidence that appropriate Right to Work document checks were carried out.
A total of 74 suspected breaches of the illegal working legislation were exposed, meaning that a potential total of £1.48m of civil penalties could be issued to employers.
This total includes 20 suspected breaches that emerged following checks carried out with other government agencies after the visits.
The highest number illegal workers were found at Sword Construction’s building site in Chester, and the potential penalty of £400,000 is the largest of the campaign.
James Brokenshire, immigration minister said: “Illegal working undermines legitimate employers, drives down wages and denies employment to hard-working UK citizens and legal migrants.
“Operation Magnify is all about disrupting illegal working and making life impossible for employers who do not play by the rules. The results show that the cross government approach is working.
“While we are happy to work with those businesses to help them carry out the right checks on their staff those who do not play by the rules could face severe financial consequences.
“Through our Immigration Bill, currently going through Parliament, we will lower the existing evidence requirement to make it easier to prosecute those who know, or reasonably suspect, that an employee has no permission to work in the UK.
“We are also increasing the current maximum sentence from two to five years and introducing new powers to close businesses or have their licences removed.”
During 2016, Operation Magnify will continue to focus on construction, care and cleaning, and will also and be extended to other illegal working sectors, such as taxi and private hire drivers, street markets, catering and agriculture.
