Penalties for non-compliance when it comes to illegal working are now severe.
The hospitality and leisure industry, where there is a high turnover of staff, is very attractive to migrant workers and indeed the industry relies heavily on them. It might not be surprising, therefore, that 60% of all fines for employing illegal workers last year were imposed in the retail, hotel, restaurant and leisure industries.
The importance of getting this right hardly needs to be stressed – for further details on employer duties and right to work checks see our Immigration Toolkit
What has made this even more relevant to the hospitality sector are new provisions which have also been introduced that make immigration checks part of the process for applying for a Premises Licences and Personal Licence.
Licensing Law Changes
Licences will no longer be issued to anyone who does not have the right to live and work in the UK.
Premises Licence
An individual may only apply for a premises licence if they are resident in the UK and are entitled to work here. The Secretary of State or rather the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement) will become a Responsible Authority in respect of premises licensed to sell alcohol and all applications for a premises licence, transfer or variation of a premises licence submitted after 6 Aril 2017 must be sent to Home Office (Immigration Enforcement). This means the Home Office will be able to make representations on whether or not a licence should be granted.
Personal Licence
A Personal Licence will not now be issued to anyone who:
- does not have the right to live and work in the UK; or
- does not have the right to live and work in the UK; or
- is subject to a condition preventing him/her carrying on a licensable activity in the UK.
is subject to a condition preventing him/her carrying on a licensable activity in the UK.
When applying for licence applicants will have to demonstrate that they have a right to work in the UK and that they are not subject to a condition preventing them from carrying on a licensable activity in the UK, and must support these facts with copies of specified documents, sent with their application.
If the document copied is a passport, a copy of the following pages should be provided:
- any page containing the holder’s personal details including nationality;
- any page containing the holder’s photograph;
- any page containing the holder’s signature;
- any page containing the date of expiry;
- any page containing information indicating the holder has permission to enter or remain in the UK and is permitted to work. If the document is not a passport, a copy of the whole document should be provided.
The Home Office (Immigration Enforcement) will be served a copy of any application for a personal licence where the applicant has any unspent immigration offence or has been required to pay an immigration penalty.
If the licence holder ceases to be entitled to work in the UK then the licence will become invalid.
The importance of being vigilant
If the DPS’s licence lapses because they are no longer entitled to work in UK, the sale of alcohol from the premises will become unlawful immediately. The premises licence holder then risks potential criminal prosecution. You will need to be more vigilant than ever with immigration checks if you are to avoid this risk.
Enforcement
Immigration Officers now also have the same powers as licensing authorities to issue an illegal working closure notice to close a business for up to 48 hours if there is an illegal worker at the premises. The court may then make an illegal working compliance order if appropriate.
