Government proposes steeper fines for gangmasters
Gangmasters will face tougher fines for employing illegal workers under new plans unveiled by the government.
Courts currently have the power to fine gangmasters up to £5,000 per illegal worker, but the Home Office wants to increase the limit.
Home Office minister Baroness Scotland outlined the government’s proposals in the House of Lords yesterday.
Figures show that just a handful of people have been found guilty of employing illegal workers in recent years, but the government is keen to deter gangmasters and criminal gangs smuggling illegal immigrants into Britain. Estimates suggest that there are hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in the UK, many working in service industries, factories, farms, construction and in prostitution.
Baroness Scotland proposed to bring forward an amendment to the Asylum and Immigration Bill, currently before the House.
The aim of the increased fines was to send out a “stronger message that such behaviour is both illegal and unacceptable,” she said.
The Home Office plans to tighten rules governing documentation in order to catch employers who claim to have checked workers’ documentation.
The new fines will not just apply to gangmasters, but to any employers who have not taken all reasonable steps to ensure staff are working legally.
The issue of illegal gangmasters and conditions for illegal workers in Britain came under the spotlight recently, following the tragic deaths of 20 Chinese cocklepickers in Morecambe Bay.
In a recent case a gangmaster was fined £100 for employing eight illegal workers – just £12.50 per worker.
