The Immigration Act 2016 (Commencement No.1) Regulations 2016 have been made bringing three of the Act’s employment provisions into force on 12 July 2016:
- Sections 1 to 9, which require the Secretary of State to appoint a Director of Labour Market Enforcement to oversee compliance in the labour market, principally in relation to employment agencies, the National Minimum Wage and the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004.
- S.34, which will create a new offence of illegal working where a person works at a time when he or she reasonably believes that he or she is disqualified from doing so because of his or her immigration status. A person convicted of this offence will be subject to imprisonment for up to 51 weeks or a fine, or both and may be subject to a confiscation order of wages as the proceeds of crime.
- S.35, which extends the existing criminal offence of knowingly employing an illegal worker to a situation where the employer has ‘reasonable cause’ to believe that the employee is disqualified from working because of his or her immigration status. The maximum term of imprisonment for conviction of offence on indictment will increase from two years to five years.
No date has been indicated as to when S.77 will come into force, i.e. requiring a public authority to ensure that each person who works in a customer-facing role speaks fluent English.
Content Note
The aim is to provide summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. In particular, where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out full details of all the facts, the legal arguments presented by the parties and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Click on the links provided to access full details. If no link is provided contact us for further information. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, SM&B cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out all of the facts, the legal arguments presented and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
