Byron Burgers gets a grilling over illegal workers
According to reports, Byron Burgers invited its kitchen staff to attend early morning meetings for training purposes. However, the staff who attended had an unpleasant surprise when Home Office officials turned up without warning and proceeded to detain those staff who it found had been working without the correct immigration status. This has resulted in a wave of negative publicity aimed at Byron who many see as colluding with the Home Office and using deception to apprehend illegal workers. Some disgruntled members of the public have even gone so far as to release insects at some branches of Byron.
One interesting question is why Byron had illegal staff working for it in the first place. The most likely answer is that its pre-employment checks were not as robust as they should have been.
Every employer is required to check that a new starter has the right to work in the UK before hiring that person. This is done by the employer checking the recruit’s identification documents and verifying that they give the person permission to work. Employers also have to retain copies of these documents as evidence that this check has been done. If an employer unwittingly hires workers who are later found to be illegally working, then the employer can be fined up to £20,000 for each illegal worker. However, this penalty can be reduced if the employer actively co-operates with the Home Office when investigated.
Presumably when the Home Office asked Byron to prove that all its staff were legitimately entitled to work in the UK, Byron could not provide satisfactory evidence. Some reports say that up to 30 Byron staff were eventually detained, which means Byron could have been facing total fines in the region of half a million pounds.
Such a substantial penalty would be a strong incentive for many employers to work with the Home Office in the hope of receiving a lighter fine. However, against this must now be weighed the risk of negative publicity, consumer boycotts, and low staff morale from being perceived to have tricked staff into being deported, which has left a sour taste in the mouths of many.