Get your act together

Scotland’s first workshop dealing with migrant workers and penalties takes place in Dundee later this month. Senior HR consultant Jeni McCabe, of SCRSolutions, explains why it’s important that small and medium-sized employers know their way around the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act

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THE rate of immigration is showing no signs of slowing down.

The Office of National Statistics has predicted that the Scottish population will grow in 2008 by 8,500 migrant workers alone.

It is therefore inevitable that, at some point, most employers will have applications from foreign workers, and may be employing them already without even knowing it.

With the recent introduction of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act, new measures have been imposed to help tackle illegal migrant workers. These include:

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 liable for the above civil penalties and face a criminal record with the possibility of a jail sentence.

A recent investigation by the BBC revealed that 137 businesses have been caught employing foreigners illegally since the new legislation came into effect in February this year. This is 10 times more than the number caught in 2007. This is mainly due to a 40% rise in the number of raids on employers in an attempt to catch offenders.

On top of this, there are more changes to come in autumn this year. Over the next year, a new points system will be rolled out. Several types of visa are available for foreigners who want to work in the UK. The most popular will be the highly skilled migrant’s visa, holidaymaker’s visa, foreign student’s visa and work permits.

Workers will have to meet set criteria to show that they have enough points to enter the UK and are likely to need a UK employer sponsor, depending on the type of visa needed. To become a sponsor, employers need to be licensed and approved in advance by the Border and Immigration Agency. Once licensed, they will have to apply for an individual certificate of sponsorship for each migrant they wish to employ.

At SCRSolutions, we have had an increase in inquiries from companies asking for the immigration rules and regulations to be explained and clarified.

It is very confusing for employers at the moment. It is important that they understand the current legal requirements and are aware of the new points-based system that will be implemented in autumn.

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 by how many businesses are currently employing foreign workers without knowing it.

SCRSolutions is to hold a series of training workshops across Scotland to help businesses understand what checks are needed and how to keep records to establish their statutory excuse to protect themselves from civil penalties.

Guest speaker Liz Jackson has had extensive experience in dealing with migrant workers. She will describe the types of visas and permits available to employers and look at the different requirements for each, as well as giving advice on integrating migrant workers into the business to create a positive and diverse workforce.