Civil Penalties for Employing Illegal Workers

The Legal Framework

The civil penalty is imposed under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. An employer who employs someone without the right to do the work faces a penalty unless it can show it made the prescribed checks. How the amount is calculated is set by the code of practice on preventing illegal working, in force since 13 February 2024, and the checks themselves by the employer’s guide to right to work checks.

This applies to all employers, regardless of size, sector, or the number of employees.

How the Amount Is Worked Out

The code of practice starts from a fixed figure and then applies named factors. The starting amounts:

• First breach: £45,000 per worker. This is the calculation used where the employer has not been found employing illegal workers within the previous three years
• Repeat breach: £60,000 per worker, where such a finding was made within the previous three years

The reductions from those starting points:

• Reporting. £5,000 off per worker where the employer reported its own suspicion about a worker’s right to work and holds the Unique Reference Number acknowledging it
• Cooperation. £5,000 off per worker for actively cooperating with the Home Office investigation
• Effective checking practices. On a first breach only, an employer that shows effective right to work checking practices and meets both of the factors above receives a warning notice rather than a penalty

The amounts are per worker, so an employer found with several is charged for each.

How to Conduct Right-to-Work Checks

To establish a statutory excuse, employers must follow the prescribed checking process:

1. Obtain original documents from the employee that prove their right to work (from the acceptable documents lists)
2. Check the documents in the presence of the holder. Verify they are genuine, the person matches the photo, the dates are valid, and the right to work has not expired
3. Make and retain copies of the documents, recording the date the check was made. Retain for the duration of employment plus 2 years

Alternatively, use the Home Office online checking service with the employee's share code to verify their right to work digitally.

Follow-Up Checks

If an employee has time-limited permission to work (for example, a visa with an expiry date), the employer must conduct a follow-up check before the permission expires. This maintains the statutory excuse.

British citizens, Irish citizens, and people with indefinite leave to remain or settled status have an unrestricted right to work, and a correct first check gives a continuous statutory excuse for the whole of the employment. No follow-up check is due. See our guide on citizenship and right to work.

The Statutory Excuse

If you conduct the prescribed checks correctly and in good faith, you have a statutory excuse. This means:

• You will not receive a civil penalty even if the employee turns out not to have the right to work
• The Home Office cannot hold you liable for unknowingly employing an illegal worker
• You must be able to produce copies of the documents and evidence of the check if asked

Criminal Offence

Separate from the civil penalty, it is a criminal offence under Section 21 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 to knowingly employ someone who does not have the right to work. This carries:

• An unlimited fine
• Up to 5 years' imprisonment

The criminal offence requires the employer to have known or had reasonable cause to believe the worker did not have the right to work. The civil penalty applies where the employer did not know but failed to check.

What the Statutory Excuse Requires

• A check on every new employee, whatever their nationality or appearance. Checking only some people is discrimination under the Equality Act 2010
• The check made before employment starts, not on the first day
• A follow-up check before time-limited permission expires, and every 6 months where the excuse rests on a Positive Verification Notice
• Copies retained for the whole of the employment and 2 years after it ends, and producible on request

Right to work is a separate scheme from right to rent, which applies to landlords and has its own, different, penalty amounts. The two are not interchangeable, and the online service used for one is not the service used for the other.

For more on employer duties, see our guides on employer responsibilities and sponsor duties.

Challenging a Penalty

An objection goes to the Home Office in writing within 28 days of the due date specified in the penalty notice. The grounds are that you are not liable, that you have a statutory excuse because the prescribed checks were made, or that the amount is too high.

An appeal then goes to the county court in England and Wales, or the sheriff court in Scotland, within 28 days of the date on the objection outcome notice or on any new penalty notice.

On payment, the code of practice offers a faster payment option: a first-time recipient who pays in full within 21 days has the penalty reduced by 30%. Instalments can be requested instead, usually over up to 24 months. For related guidance, see our right to work check guide, illegal working penalties guide, sponsor licence guide, eVisa guide, biometrics guide, Skilled Worker visa guide, and Home Office contact guide.

Questions and answers