Crystal Umbrella

A court case last week revealed that Nigerian, Modupeola Fatoyinbo was employed illegally at the Houses of Parliament. She was originally employed as a casual catering assistant but was later offered a permanent position at which point she produced a counterfeit passport as proof of identity.

Peter Zinner, prosecuting, stated: “To gain access to the relevant department, she had been issued with a visitor’s pass, and she would be met by a member of catering staff, who would escort her to the department. The result of this was that she was working in a secure area without being security checked.”

With regards to the passport, he said: “It was found to be a false, counterfeit document, containing a counterfeit Home Office leave to remain in the UK and permission to do work.” Ms Fatoyinbo admitted that she had paid £170 for the passport.

As he jailed her for four months, Judge Andrew Goymer stated: “These are serious offences, which undermine confidence in the management and identity control systems of this country. People must expect to go to prison for such offences. I bear in mind that you are of previous good character, and have two young children. I have also been told that you pose no security or terrorist threat and as far as I’m aware, you did not present a security risk to the Palace of Westminster.”

The judge made no recommendations regarding deportation as Ms Fatoyinbo is seeking asylum for her and her daughters.

A dawn raid at Scanwell Freight Services in Hounslow on Monday 8^th March resulted in officers from the UK Border Agency arresting 14 people. Eight male employees were arrested on a number of immigration charges. The firm, based in Amberley Way, can now expect to be fined up to £90,000 for employing these eight men, and possibly a ninth member of staff although further investigations need to be carried out to see if the necessary checks were actually made.

The other 6 people were arrested following subsequent searches at addresses in Southall and Hayes. Of those arrested, an Indian woman, five Indian men and a man from South Africa are currently being detained pending deportation. The UK Border Agency is seeking travel documentation for the other seven who are currently on bail.

Speaking of this operation, The head of the Hounslow Local Immigration Team, Ben Kelso, commented that this was part of an ongoing clampdown by the UK Border Agency, saying: “Illegal working has a serious impact on communities, taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work. We are happy to work with businesses to ensure they know what checks have to be done on staff, but those who do break the law will face action.”

Any business who is found to be employing workers illegally can face charges of up to £10,000 per illegal worker. Further information about which checks to carry out before offering employment can be found at www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk or by calling 0300 123 4699.

A Freedom of Information Act request has provided details of illegal workers who have been employed by government agencies since 2006. The data shows that ten foreign workers were actually employed by the UK Border Agency, the Home Office department responsible for vetting immigrants who come into the country. The Home Office itself also employed two illegal workers at their headquarters in Whitehall. In total, the figures showed that hundreds of illegal workers were employed at 54 NHS trusts and 34 local authorities across the country.

Of the twelve people employed by the Home Office, one was from Ghana and the other eleven were Nigerian. The ten workers at the UK Border Agency were cleaners while one person was employed as a security guard at Whitehall and the other illegal worker there held a chef position.

These twelve people have since been subject to investigation and action has been taken. Eight have been deported and three are currently detained pending appeal. Only one of the twelve has been granted permission to remain in the UK.

As this data was made public, Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling stated: “This is an absolute scandal. The Government has taken tough action against private companies over the employment of illegal immigrants, yet on this evidence it is quite clear the public sector has taken on bogus workers and escaped any form of censure.”

He concluded: “We have ministers constantly telling us they have got to grips with the chaos in our immigration system, yet the Home Office itself has been employing illegal workers. It is completely unacceptable and we need an urgent explanation from ministers.”

These figures will be a further blow to Home Secretary Alan Johnson who has already publicly condemned the government for its handling of immigration. Only last year Attorney Baroness Scotland was found to have employed a Tongan housekeeper who was not eligible to work in this country. She was subsequently fined £5000.

In total, 349 illegal immigrants were employed in public sector positions according to the figures released. The NHS employed four foreign nationals as doctors and 13 as nurses in their hospitals. Six people were employed in secondary schools as teachers and ten people were employed as care and social workers.

The Home Office responded to these figures via a spokesman who said: “The 12 illegal workers identified since 2006 were all sub-contractors, none of them were directly employed by the Home Office. It was our checks and the strict regime we operate on illegal working in the UK that brought these cases to light. We are doing more than ever before to crack down on illegal working, with raids taking place up and down the country every week, and thousands of rule breakers deported.”

These figures show that the employment of illegal workers continues to be a problem across all sectors. Crystal Umbrella recognises its responsibility to protect agencies and clients alike from the potential pitfalls. As such, we are investing heavily in UK Border Agency compliant registrations in order to have the most effective procedures and technologies in place as a pre-emptive measure.