11/7/2025 3:39:27 PM | less than a minute read

Do you have a statutory excuse against unlawful employment?

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Julie Moktadir

Partner, Head of Immigration

Get in touch

Julie Moktadir

Partner, Head of Immigration

Northern Ireland has seen an increase of arrests for individuals working illegally. We often talk of the importance of right to work checks, however what this article fails to mention is the potential impact on the employer where individuals do not have a valid right to work in the UK. A civil penalty for employing illegal workers in the UK can be up to £45,000 per worker for a first offense, and up to £60,000 per worker for repeat offenses. If an organisation unwittingly employs more than one individual without a legal right to work, this can result in serious fines.

If you do need any guidance on right to work or would like Stone King to undertake an audit to check your right to work documents for employees, please do get in touch.

More than 200 arrests of people suspected of working illegally have been made in Northern Ireland over the past year, the Home Office has said. The arrests were made by Immigration Enforcement between October 2024 and September 2025. It marks a 54% increase on the year before. The Home Office said it was part of the "largest crackdown on illegal workers since records began" after an uplift of immigration raids on businesses across the UK.

www.bbc.co.uk/...