British businesses employing illegal workers face huge fines and prison sentences, according to a new marketing campaign unveiled by the government on Monday.
Employers will be fined up to 10,000 pounds (some 20,000 U.S. dollars) for every illegal worker they negligently hire or could face up to two years in prison.
The message will be driven home in a new marketing campaign laying out the new rules due to come into effect in February.
To build awareness of the changes, which will affect recruitment and employment practices, the government is launching a three-week radio and newspaper campaign starting Monday.
Any employers found to be breaking the law could lose the right to recruit from outside the European Union.
"Illegal working attracts illegal migrants and undercuts British wages. That's why we're determined to shut it down. The message is clear for employers -- we will not tolerate illegal working," said Immigration Minister Liam Byrne, adding "This highly visible marketing campaign will ensure employers have no excuse for breaking the rules."
The crackdown on illegal working is part of the biggest shake-up of the immigration system for 40 years. In the coming year there will be a tough Australian-style points based system for managing immigration in addition to Britain's new e-Borders program allowing people to be counted in and out of the country.
Biometric ID cards will be required for any foreign national in the country for more than three months, tying people to one identity.
The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) undertakes regular enforcement operations against illegal working throughout Britain. In 2006 alone, the agency carried out over 5,200 operations against illegal working. Both at ports and within Britain, the BIA removed nearly 64,000 people, which means removing one every eight minutes. In the first three quarters of last year another 45,000 were removed.
Source:Xinhua
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