We have seen a small but notable increase in the number of clients hit by civil penalties for a breach of immigration rules in recent months.
Care homes are vulnerable to falling foul of immigration laws from minor mistakes like not photocopying the back of an ID card, to intentionally employing somebody without the right to work in the UK.
These penalties can result in fines of up to £20,000 and have negative effects on the company's reputation. If they are a sponsor license holder (to employ workers from outside the European Economic Area) they could also see their sponsorship level downgraded.
In general these civil penalties are not covered by the legal protection afforded by legal expense insurance. It is therefore very important that care homes have in place robust HR policies to ensure they are following the required processes to the letter.
You can find more information about your obligations when hiring non EU workers here:
And more information about the penalties a company can incur here:
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