In March this year, we reported the story of Robert Carl Jordan, a US citizen who faced deportation from the UK despite spending almost his entire life in the UK. Today, Manchester Evening news, has reported how he has been allowed to stay and will now be applying for dual citizenship.
Following this, the Home Office have overturned the £15,000 civil penalty they issued to Mr Jordan’s employer, The Bay Horse Pub in Denton – Mr Jordan has now been allowed to return to his job at the Pub.
Civil Penalty for Pub Found Hiring “Illegal Migrant”
Mr Jordan, a 56 year old national who entered the UK at the age of 3 years old with his British mother was detained by the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement Unit when they paid The Bay Horse Pub a visit this year.
The Pub was fined £15,000 for hiring an illegal worker but this was overturned following a review of the case. Bay Horse landlord Mike Hill contended that he had employed Mr Jordan whom he had known as a friend for more than 30 years, after he had checked his driver’s licence and P46 from his last job.
UK Employers: Importance of Complying with Immigration Rules
Employers in the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working in the UK by ensuring that their employees have the right to work here. The Immigration Rules allow an employer to be served with a notice requiring the payment of a penalty of a specified amount where they employ a person aged 16 or over who is subject to immigration control unless:
- that person has been given valid and subsisting leave to be in the UK by the Home Office and that leave does not restrict them from taking the job in question; or
- the person is in a category for which employment is also allowed.
Civil Penalty: ‘Referral Notice’
If an employer is found employing an illegal migrant, they would get a ‘referral notice’ to let them know that their case is being considered. They may also fine the employer (i.e. a civil penalty) of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker.
The ‘civil penalty notice’ will give the employer payment options and tell them what do next. It will also tell them how to appeal. The Home Office may also publish the employer’s details as a a warning to other businesses not to employ illegal workers.
Thos who are found to have ‘knowingly employed’ an illegal worker, could be sent to jail for up to 2 years and receive an unlimited fine. It is therefore, imperative that employers are aware of the current immigration rules and their duties.
Immigration Legal Advice for UK Employers
If you are a UK business and have been affected by the Home Office’s raids, contact us to discuss this further. Business owners sponsoring migrants from outside the EEA must ensure that they are legally registered to sponsor migrants and must have a valid Tier 2 Sponsorship Licence. If the Home Office has contacted you in relation to carrying out a compliance visit at your business premises, contact us for legal advice. You can also contact us if you have been issued with a Civil Penalty Notice and feel you have grounds to appeal against it.
Illegal migrants with strong Human Rights arguments ought to take legal advice and regularise their stay in the UK as soon as possible and before it is too late. Contact us to discuss your immigration situation and we will assess your case and provide you with options of regularising your stay.