Baroness Scotland fined for employing illegal immigrant

The recent and well publicised case involving Baroness Scotland serves as a reminder for all employers to ensure they check (and in some cases re-check after 12 months) and copy documents showing that their employees can work in the United Kingdom.  The Attorney General was found to have employed an individual who was not legally permitted to undertake work in the UK and was, as a result, fined by the UK Border Agency and criticised for not adhering to laws she had a hand in creating.

The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act (2006) states that it is illegal to employ anyone who is not able to enter or remain in the United Kingdom. Failure to obey the rules can lead to a maximum penalty of £10,000. The Act goes on to state that a criminal offence is committed if the employer knowingly employs an adult subject to immigration control.

In the case of Baroness Scotland, the UK Border Agency was satisfied that she did not employ an illegal worker knowingly. They were also satisfied that she took steps to check documents provided to her as proof of right to work in the UK. However the law requires that employers not only check but also keep copies of documents proving the right to work in the UK, and in this instance, the Baroness failed to meet that requirement.

Where knowledge of illegality is shown, criminal sanctions of up to 12 months in prison and a fine of £10,000 – the statutory maximum - are possible. Any employer must be able to produce documentation to verify that their employees are able to live and work in the UK.

Baroness Scotland has stated that her infraction was of a similar level to “driving into the City and not paying the congestion charge”, however her failure to retain copies of the correct documentation has led to a fine of £5,000. The Baroness issued a statement saying ‘I fully accept the findings of the UK Border Agency that I made a technical breach of the rules and I apologise for having made this inadvertent error. Having examined the documents I was shown I accept entirely that I should have taken copies of them and retained those copies…’.

The UKBA have said that ‘Employers who have not acted knowingly and who co operate, have no previous record of illegally employing people or who can show they made some effort to check the status of an employee will not normally be charged at the full rate’.

The UK Borders Agency in a statement about the Baroness Scotland matter, stated that its priority is enforcing the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act against employers who knowingly flout the rules “often on a continual basis and on a large scale”.

This case serves to remind all employers that they are responsible not only for checking the immigration status of their staff but for retaining proof of the documents checked. Where illegal workers are knowingly employed, employers could face criminal prosecution or a civil penalty.