Business

Packaging employers who fail to comply with Section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, which came into force on 29 February, could face huge fines. Is the industry vulnerable?

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Dani Novick
Managing director
Mercury Search and Selection



YES
Without doubt the industry is at risk. Our experience is that, for the most part, only the larger employers have anything approaching adequate checks in place.

It is clear that there are a significant number of immigrants in the industry; indeed we know of employers who have recruited from Eastern Europe.

With so many legitimate foreign workers from EU countries in the UK, it is easy to assume that applicants are eligible to work. But if you add to that those who are using forged documents, you have a potentially serious problem.

Aside from the legal implications, it is embarrassing for an employer to have been deceived, and it is therefore unsurprising that many are reluctant to talk about this issue.

However, the government has acknowledged that there are convincing forged documents in circulation and our experience backs this up.

I think it is vital that we get this out in the open so that employers take the correct measures to protect themselves.

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Conrad Taylor
Business director, executive services
Listgrove



YES
Illegal working generally occurs within all manufacturing sectors. The expansion of the EU to include further Eastern European countries has had a positive effect on reducing illegal immigrants. However, where there are low-skilled jobs, there will always be a temptation to find ‘cheap’ labour.

The packaging industry is at risk, especially small and medium-sized companies that do not have a human resource support facility. The pace of change in employment legislation has been relentless and SMEs have struggled to keep up. This new legislation will put further pressure on organisations.

As a recruitment specialist, Listgrove has its own internal protocol to ensure candidates go through a full reference and employment checking procedure.

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Anne Copley
Head of legal
BPIF

YES
Any firm using casual workers to control production capacity will be employing a significant number of foreign workers. Proper checking procedures are essential. The checks themselves, while not very onerous, are complicated for the uninitiated. Larger companies have the resources to deal with this. Smaller businesses are more likely to be caught out.

The problem can partly be outsourced by ensuring that contracts with relevant agencies include warranties and indemnities in case of error. However, you cannot indemnify against a prison sentence. Insiders say that only a handful of enforcement officers will be appointed, giving patchy coverage at best. The BPIF advises that full compliance is maintained regardless of the likelihood of getting caught.

Checking procedures should cover all workers. Firms don’t want to compound the problem by only checking foreign workers, thereby inviting claims of race discrimination.

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Angela Coleshill
Director
Food and Drink Federation



YES
All employers must follow certain procedures at the recruitment stage to check that potential employees are eligible to work in the UK, since it is a criminal offence to employ a person who is not entitled to work or do that particular job in the UK.

The new provisions will not make a major difference to the types of checks that employers are required to carry out, except that these checks will need to be repeated at specified intervals for staff who have limited leave to remain in the UK. FDF members welcome these tighter controls.

Under the new law, there will also be a new criminal offence for employers found to be knowingly employing illegal migrant workers. This is most welcome: the sector is committed to ensuring that illegal working is stamped out. We have a good record in this area and do not want the small minority of rogue traders to tarnish our reputation.