By Bruce Robbins

TAYSIDE EMPLOYERS face fines of thousands of pounds—and even jail—under new legislation if they hire illegal migrant workers, a business consultant warned yesterday.

Jeni McCabe, a senior consultant with Dundee’s SCRSolutions, said businesses were effectively being asked by the Government to act as “immigration police” and some are struggling to make sense of the new system.

With Tayside a top target for migrant workers, particularly from Poland and the Baltic states, there are fears that some companies could lay themselves open to prosecution more through ignorance than by design.

The rate of immigration is showing no signs of slowing down, with the Office of National Statistics predicting that migrant workers will make up an eighth of Scotland’s workforce by the end of the year.

It is understood that 137 UK businesses have been caught employing foreigners illegally since the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act came into force in February—10 times the number caught last year and mainly due to a 40% rise in the number of “raids” on employers in an attempt to catch offenders.

Measures in the act include:

* A system of civil penalties—up to £10,000 per employee—for employers who employ illegal migrant workers or fail to follow registration process or keep adequate records

* A new criminal offence for employers who knowingly employ illegal migrant workers carrying a maximum two-year prison sentence and/or an unlimited fine.

* A continuing responsibility for employers of migrant workers with a time- limited immigration status to check their ongoing entitlement to work in the United Kingdom.

Jeni said, “Employers are effectively having to act as the immigration police to a certain extent. And if they fail to comply with the regulations, they will be held personally liable for the civil penalties and face a criminal record with the possibility of a jail sentence.”

The points system will require workers to show they have enough points to enter the UK and they may have to have a UK employer sponsor depending on the type of visa required.

Employers will need to be licensed and approved in advance by the Border and Immigration Agency before qualifying as a sponsor.

Once licensed, they will have to apply for an individual certificate of sponsorship for each migrant they wish to employ.

Jeni said her company has recorded an increase in inquiries from firms asking for the immigration rules and regulations to be explained and clarified.

She added, “We advise all our clients to ask new recruits and current employees to bring in proof of their rights to work in the UK.

“This could be a passport, driver’s licence or birth certificate. I am surprised at how many businesses are currently employing foreign workers and they don’t even know it.”

SCRSolutions has organised a workshop at the Overgate Learning Centre in Dundee on May 30 to explain the new rules.

To book a place visit www.scr solutions.co.uk.