Byron Burgers gets a grilling over illegal workers

Law and Labour — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 19:04:51 +0000

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.

KEY LAW 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.

How might Brexit affect employment law?

Law and Labour — Sun, 15 May 2016 10:26:02 +0000

On 23 June 2016, a referendum will be held in the United Kingdom to decide whether this territory should leave the European Union (‘Brexit’). If Brexit were to take place, this development could have a significant impact on employment law.

Much of the legislation relating to employment rights has its foundation in European law. In addition, UK courts have to abide by the decisions of the European Court of Justice when interpreting any employment law that has its basis in EU law.

In the table below, we summarise which areas of law are likely to change.

Area of law Likely to change? Reasons Equality No It would be difficult to get rid of the existing law in this area. Working time and holiday pay Yes Workers and trade unions would complain if too many changes were made to their rights in this area. However, the law relating to holiday pay might be amended to simplify its application and clarify some unpopular rights that have arisen as the result of EU case law. Transfer of undertakings (TUPE) No Although the law in this area is unpopular with businesses, it is unlikely to be repealed because it is a key part of many commercial agreements. Instead, minor amendments might be made. Redundancy No The obligations are not onerous such that removal would be sought. Agency workers Yes The law governing agency workers’ rights is complex and unpopular, making it ripe for amendment. Immigration Yes If Brexit goes ahead, then nationals of the UK and the EU will lose the right to freedom of movement between each others’ states. It is likely the Government would put in place transitional arrangements allowing EU nationals already working in the UK to remain for a time as long as reciprocal arrangements applied to UK citizens working in EU countries. Data protection No EU states will demand that the UK have adequate data protection measures in place should their businesses need to transfer personal data to the UK. Maintaining the current legislation will provide such security, but the legislation will need to be updated to take into account upcoming changes to EU data protection legislation.

Despite the concerns noted above, any changes are unlikely to take place immediately following Brexit. The rules governing EU membership mean it will take two years for the UK to leave the EU. The Government would therefore be more likely to retain current legislation for a period of time before making changes to individual legislation on a piecemeal basis as and when necessary.

“European Union flag” by Flikr user Yanni Koutsomitis used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license

Law and Labour » Immigration

Byron Burgers gets a grilling over illegal workers

How might Brexit affect employment law?