Fines For Illegal Workers In The UK: What Employers Need To Know

If you’re hiring in the UK, getting right to work checks wrong can be seriously expensive. The government has increased the civil penalties for employing illegal workers, and the bar for compliance has risen with it.

The good news? With the right processes in place, you can build a solid “statutory excuse” and protect your business from day one. In this guide, we’ll break down what the fine for employing someone illegally looks like in 2024, when it becomes a criminal offence, and the step-by-step checks you need to avoid penalties.

What Is The Fine For Employing Someone Illegally In The UK?

Under the UK’s illegal working civil penalty scheme (set out in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and related Codes of Practice), employers can face a significant civil penalty if they employ someone who doesn’t have the right to work in the UK and they cannot show they did the prescribed right to work checks correctly.

• First breach: up to £45,000 per illegal worker
• Repeat breach: up to £60,000 per illegal worker

These higher penalty levels apply to checks carried out on or after 13 February 2024. The Home Office applies a sliding scale within those caps, taking into account factors like whether you reported concerns, cooperated, and had effective processes in place.

Beyond the financial hit, a penalty can trigger other business consequences. If you hold or plan to apply for a sponsorship licence, a civil penalty can lead to licence suspension or revocation. If this risk is on your radar, it’s worth understanding the implications if your sponsor licence is revoked.

It’s also important to understand the broader enforcement environment. There has been a UK government crackdown on illegal working and visa abuse, with more site visits and data-sharing between agencies. In short: this is an area of rising regulatory focus.

When Does It Become A Criminal Offence?

Separate to the civil penalty regime, it’s a criminal offence to employ someone when you know, or have reasonable cause to believe, that they are disqualified from employment by their immigration status. This is a higher threshold than simply failing to do the right to work checks properly.

Potential consequences include:

• An unlimited fine
• Up to 5 years’ imprisonment for responsible individuals

This is rare for small businesses that are trying to do the right thing and have robust compliance processes, but it underlines why your recruitment practices need to be consistent, documented and followed every time.

How To Avoid Fines: Right To Work Checks That Create A Statutory Excuse

If you follow the Home Office’s prescribed right to work checks before employment starts (and any required follow-up checks), you get a “statutory excuse” against a civil penalty. In other words, even if it later turns out the person didn’t have permission to work, you won’t be fined if your checks were done correctly.

There are three compliant routes to checking right to work. You can use one or more depending on the candidate’s documents and status.

1) Manual Document Checks

Manual checks remain a core option for many workers. To be compliant, you must:

• Obtain original documents from the Home Office’s acceptable document lists (Lists A or B)
• Check them in the presence of the holder (in person or via live video link while holding the physical originals)
• Verify photo likeness, dates, any restrictions, and signs of tampering
• Copy the documents in a way that can’t be altered and certify the copy with the date and your name
• Retain the copies securely for the duration of employment and for at least two years after the employment ends

Make sure the person’s permission covers the job in question and any conditions (for example, limits on weekly hours for students). If permission is time-limited, diarise a follow-up check before it expires.

2) Home Office Online Right To Work Service

The Home Office online service is the simplest route for many non-UK nationals. The worker generates a share code and you access their real-time status via the official portal. If you rely on the online result, you must:

• Use the share code and date of birth to view the person’s right to work record on the official service
• Check the photo against the person appearing before you
• Download or save a copy of the online result (with a clear date stamp) to your records

This route gives you up-to-date evidence from the Home Office and can remove the need to interpret visas or endorsements yourself.

3) Digital Identity Checks (IDSP) For British And Irish Citizens

For British or Irish citizens with valid passports, you can use an Identity Service Provider (IDSP) to perform digital identity verification using Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT). To rely on this route, ensure you:

• Use a certified IDSP and follow the Home Office guidance
• Receive a report confirming an identity match for right to work purposes
• Keep a clear copy of the IDSP report and the biodata page of the passport
• Confirm the image matches the person presenting themselves before you

Remember, you remain responsible for the check even if you use an IDSP. Keep your policy clear on when and how IDSPs are used, and train staff accordingly.

Follow-Up Checks, Record-Keeping And Data Protection

If an employee has time-limited permission, you must complete a follow-up check before their permission expires to maintain your statutory excuse. Build this into your HR calendar so nothing slips through.

For record-keeping, retain copies of right to work evidence for the duration of employment and for at least two years afterwards. Align your retention policy with wider HR data rules and ensure secure storage. If you’re reviewing your HR retention schedule, it’s worth confirming how long you should keep ex-employee records.

Avoid Discrimination

Right to work checks must be applied consistently to all candidates, regardless of nationality, race or ethnicity, to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the Home Office’s Code of Practice on Avoiding Discrimination. Don’t make assumptions about someone’s right to work based on their name or accent, and don’t request different or more documents from some candidates than others.

Document Your Process

The easiest way to embed compliance is to set out your procedure in a concise policy and train hiring managers. Consider including your right to work procedure within a Staff Handbook and having a standalone Workplace Policy that outlines acceptable documents, check routes, storage, retention and escalation points. That way, every manager follows the same steps every time.

Using Agencies, Contractors And Franchisees: Managing Third-Party Risk

Illegal working liability isn’t just about your permanent hires. Many small businesses scale with agency temps, labour-only contractors or franchise arrangements. You still need to manage right to work risk across your labour supply chain.

Agency Workers

If you use an employment business or staffing agency, make sure your contract clearly allocates responsibility for right to work checks, audit rights and indemnities. You should also ask for evidence of checks (or build in a right to inspect). Having a clear agreement for Agency Worker Hire can help lock in these protections.

Contractors And Subcontractors

Where workers are engaged through a contractor or subcontractor, your terms should require the contractor to conduct compliant right to work checks, provide evidence on request, and indemnify you for breaches. A well-drafted Contractors Agreement can set these expectations from day one.

Franchise Or Outsourced Operations

If you license your brand to franchisees or outsource operations, consider compliance undertakings, training requirements and audit clauses in those agreements. You want to be able to verify that anyone working under your banner has been checked properly.

What To Do If You Receive A Civil Penalty Notice

Despite your best efforts, mistakes can happen. If you receive a Referral Notice, Information Request or Civil Penalty Notice from the Home Office, act quickly and methodically.

1) Check The Timelines

You’ll usually have a short window to respond (for example, 10 days for an information request) and 28 days to object to a civil penalty notice. Diarise these dates immediately and assign a responsible manager to coordinate your response.

2) Gather Your Evidence

Pull together all right to work evidence and contemporaneous notes for the workers named. This includes:

• Copies of documents or online check results with date stamps
• Follow-up check reminders and calendar entries
• Training records and policy documents
• Any correspondence with the worker about visa updates

If your records show you followed the correct check route, you may have a full statutory excuse. If there were gaps, you may still be able to reduce the penalty based on mitigating factors like cooperation or partial checks.

3) Consider An Objection

You can object to the civil penalty if you think:

• You have a statutory excuse
• The person was not employed by you
• The penalty amount is too high based on the facts

If the objection outcome isn’t satisfactory, you can appeal to the County Court, again within strict time limits. Don’t leave this to the last minute-calm, well-evidenced submissions give you the best chance of reducing or overturning the penalty.

4) Manage Sponsorship Risk

If you hold a sponsor licence, inform your key personnel (Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User) and consider any reporting you may need to do. An illegal working penalty can affect your rating and licence status. If your worst-case scenario is licence action, it’s important to understand the steps if your sponsor licence is revoked.

5) Strengthen Your Processes

Whether or not a penalty stands, take it as a prompt to tighten your hiring process. Update your policy, roll out refresher training, and consider a light-touch internal audit of recent hires. The aim is to ensure one-off errors don’t become systemic issues.

Practical Compliance Checklist For Small Businesses

Here’s a simple, actionable list to embed right to work compliance in your day-to-day hiring:

• Create a short, step-by-step procedure covering manual, online and IDSP checks, and add it to your Staff Handbook.
• Train anyone involved in recruitment and require them to follow the same process every time.
• Use a standard form to record the check route used, date, who performed it, and any follow-up dates.
• Set calendar reminders for follow-up checks before time-limited permission expires.
• Securely store evidence for the duration of employment and two years after; align retention with how you keep ex-employee records.
• Where you use labour suppliers or agencies, make sure your Agency Worker Hire or Contractors Agreement puts right to work obligations and audit rights on the supplier.
• Spot check a sample of new hires each quarter to test your records and catch gaps early.
• Document how you avoid discrimination (e.g. performing the same checks on all candidates) within your Workplace Policy.

If this feels like a lot to maintain, don’t stress-a simple, consistent process is all you need. Once your policy and templates are in place, compliance becomes routine admin rather than a scramble.

Key Takeaways

• The fine for employing someone illegally can be up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches. Criminal liability applies if you know, or have reasonable cause to believe, someone can’t work in the UK.
• You can avoid a civil penalty by completing the prescribed right to work checks correctly before employment starts and repeating them on time for workers with time-limited permission.
• There are three compliant routes: manual document checks, the Home Office online right to work service, and certified IDSP digital checks for British/Irish passports. Document your chosen route every time.
• Apply checks consistently to all candidates to avoid discrimination and keep clear records for the duration of employment plus two years.
• If you receive a civil penalty notice, act quickly-gather evidence, consider an objection within the deadline, and strengthen your processes.
• Manage third-party risk through contracts and audits when using agencies or contractors, and make sure your internal policies and training are clear and followed.

If you’d like help putting robust hiring policies in place, reviewing your labour supplier contracts, or responding to a Home Office notice, our team can help. You can reach us on 08081347754 or at team@sprintlaw.co.uk for a free, no-obligations chat.