Immigration officials have been out in force across the UK to disrupt rogue employers who hire migrants illegally and exploit vulnerable people, and to address the promise of illegal jobs that are used by criminal smuggling gangs to sell spaces in small boats crossing the Channel.
Particular focus has been on targeting car washes, nail bars, supermarkets and construction sites suspected of hiring illegal workers and subjecting them to squalid conditions and illegal working hours at below minimum wage.
As part of activity to tackle illegal working, Immigration Enforcement also plays a critical safeguarding role, working closely with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and other organisations to allow employees to report labour exploitation.
More biometric fingerprinting kits will also be deployed to the frontline, allowing officers to check those they apprehend in illegal working raids against police databases on the spot, rather than having to take them to local police stations.
Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime at Immigration Enforcement is Eddy Montgomery. He said: “This activity demonstrates our laser focus on holding employers to account and safeguarding those who are made to work in squalid conditions.
“I am proud of the teams across the country, for their hard work in accelerating this activity in recent months to prevent exploitation and ensure those who break the law face consequences.”
