The EU is planning a stringent crackdown on employers who hire illegal immigrants. While employing illegal immigrants has always been illegal the new proposals will tighten up the system even further and hit hard those employers who employ illegal immigrants.

Employers may be at risk of a fine, substantial jail sentence and unpaid taxes and social security payments. This would be on top of the cost of repatriating the worker. Firms found guilty of such employment may also be barred from tendering for public sector contracts.

Employers would have to check that anyone they hired had a residence permit and businesses would have to notify national authorities. The EU will also be seeking a five-fold increase in the number of spot checks for illegal immigrations of companies.

Only two days before the EU proposal the UK government have also announced that all jobseekers will soon be required to produce a birth certificate or passport so that illegal immigrants find it even more difficult to secure employment.

Currently, employers hiring staff who do not have permission to work in the UK face fines of up to £5,000 per worker. The laws surrounding illegal immigrant workers has also been tightened up with an ‘on the spot’ fine of up to £2,000 per worker and a new criminal offence for employers or others in positions of responsibility who knowingly take on an illegal immigrant. If found guilty of this offence then you could face imprisonment.

In April 2008 a sponsorship system is due to be implemented by April 2008 and employers who hire black market workers may be suspended from the sponsorship register.

The recent changes lead us to the conclusion that it is imperative that all employers, especially those employing foreign immigrants, should carry out appropriate checks as part of the recruitment process. Employer must make certain that people they are hiring have the right to work in the UK currently and in the future if changes are introduced.