New immigration laws in force from 21 November 2016
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New immigration laws in force from 21 November 2016
New Immigration Laws
The Secretary of State has (finally) made a second commencement order bringing into force more parts of the Immigration Act 2016.
The key points for businesses are:
- The Illegal working closure notices come into force on 1 December 2016. This means that an immigration officer may issue an illegal working closure notice to employers’ premises if they are satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that they are employing an illegal worker. The premises can be closed for a maximum of 48 hours whilst an illegal working compliance order is issued. (section 38)
- Language requirements for public sector workers come into force on 21 November 2016. This requires a duty on public sector authorities to ensure that public sector workers in customer facing roles within the UK can speak fluent English to enable the effective performance of their role. (sections 77 to 84)
- Labour marker enforcement provisions will come into force on 25 November 2016. The Government believes that the existing system of fines, where employers breach market legislation is insufficient, so they have introduced provisions that work like an Anti-Social Behaviour Order for employers, called Labour market enforcement undertakings. (sections 14 to 30).
These provisions are being brought into force to ensure compliance with our current immigration system and to deter employers’ from employing illegal workers’.