New Home Office powers to close premises

Under powers introduced in the Immigration Act 2016 from 1 December 2016, the Home Office can issue an illegal working closure notice to an employer, closing its premises for up to 48 hours, if it suspects that the employer is employing foreign workers illegally.

If a court then issues an illegal working compliance order, the potential sanction could be continued closure for up to one year, which could be extended.

However, if the employer can show that it has carried out right-to-work checks, the closure notice cannot be issued.

The following resources on XpertHR have been updated to take into account the provisions on illegal working closure notices and illegal working compliance orders.

Employment law manual

Policies and documents

"How to" guidance