Why is immigration important when you are running your business?

All UK businesses are obliged to comply with UK immigration law and this is vital for running their business.

An employer’s ability to recruit the main personnel can be imperative to its continued success. Those who deal with recruitment within an organisation need to have a good knowledge of immigration law to assess whether permission will be granted within the required time frame and if they must carry out a resident labour market test beforehand.

All employers must carry out a “right to work” check when taking on new staff, which involves checking their identity and nationality and that they have the correct immigration status for the position.

Employers must also carry out checks during employment to ensure they continue to comply with immigration law. There are civil and criminal penalties for employers that fail in their duty to prevent illegal working.

Employers must also be aware of their obligation to avoid discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race or nationality, so asking a non-UK employee for their identity documents and not asking a UK national could potentially be discriminatory.

The UK immigration system for migrants to come to the UK to work, invest or set up businesses is largely contained in a tiered points-based system.

An employer who wishes to recruit employees from overseas must obtain a sponsorship licence and be able to ensure that the SMS is updated.

For more information about how to obtain a sponsorship licence or prevent illegal working contact our lawyers today on 020 7903 6888.

The material contained on this website contains general information only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as such. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the information on this site, readers are advised to seek specific legal advice in relation to any decision or course of action.