Employing Temporary Workers – What You Need To Know

Nov. 19, 2008 - PRLog -- UK farmers rely on nearly 600,000 temporary workers to help them on their farms each year, and approximately half of those temporary workers employed in the UK agriculture industry are from other EU states.

Due to recent changes in the legislation surrounding the employment of temporary workers, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire farmers employing migrant workers are being urged to ensure they are employing them legally. Illegal working hurts good business, undercuts legal workers and creates illegal profits. It also puts illegal workers themselves at great risk.

Phillip Harding, a Partner at Tallents, highlights the implications for farmers and landowners of employing foreign workers. He said,

“From 29th February 2009 fines of up to £10,000 came into force for those who employ someone who does not have permission to work in the UK. This will be followed by a new criminal offence of knowingly employing a person who is subject to immigration control and who does not have permission to work in the UK. This will carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison. The Government has issued a code of practice to accompany these changes.  Anyone who could be affected should get a copy of this from the Home Office.”

Phillip says that the penalties surrounding this legislation can cause many farmers to have grave concerns about employing foreign workers. However, provided the right checks are made, employers should have no problems.

The full list of documents to be checked, copied and retained by the employer, can be found on the Home Office’s website, under ‘Preventing illegal working’ and also on the Business Link website.

Phillip added,
“These checks should be carried on all employees who have been employed since 27 January 1997 even those who you think are definitely UK citizens. As the employer it is your responsibility to make sure you are not, inadvertently, employing an illegal worker. If you have made all the relevant checks and kept a record, you will not be prosecuted if you are found to be employing an illegal immigrant. If employees are time-limited in the UK, then checks must be carried out every 12 months.”

One area to be particularly sensitive to when carrying out the checks is racial discrimination as the checks involved in the prevention of illegal working can often raise race discrimination issues.

Phillip says,
“When carrying out checks on their employees, employers must be careful not to use discriminatory recruitment practices. Employers should ask all European Economic Area (EEA) nationals to confirm their nationality by producing their passport. Additionally, nationals of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia may need to be registered, or authorized, to work by the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS). However, after 12 months of working legally in the UK without a break, WRS candidates can apply for a residence permit and no longer need to register with the scheme.”

He also reminds employers that migrant workers are entitled to the same terms and conditions as British citizens, so employers must ensure that they have appropriate policies in place and that health and safety rules and procedures are understood by all their employees.

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For more information, contact Tallents on 01636 671881


Tallents Solicitors, 3 Middlegate, Newark
Tel: 01636 671881

www.tallents.co.uk

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ABOUT TALLENTS

Established in 1774 and with offices in Newark, Mansfield and Southwell, Tallents Solicitors services the legal needs of private individuals, company and commercial clients and farmers in North Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

We still offer a personal service to our clients and our size and structure ensures that partners are never remote from our clients. We provide a full range of legal services and our expertise covers all areas of law including:

Agricultural law, criminal law, commercial and domestic property transactions, inheritance tax planning, trust and estate administration, wills and probate, commercial and general litigation, employment law, company and commercial law, intellectual property, matrimonial and family law, personal injury claims and children issues.