UK employers who commit serious offences will be banned from hiring overseas workers as part of a government crackdown on visa abuse and prevent exploitation. 

A key move from its manifesto pledge, the Labour government said businesses that repeatedly violate visa rules or commit serious employment breaches, such as failing to pay the National Minimum Wage, will be prohibited from hiring overseas workers.

As of now, employers who flagrantly break visa rules can only be sanctioned for a maximum of 12 months. Under the new changes, the planned period for repeat offences is set to be at least two years, double the current length, with final cooling-off periods announced in due course.

“This government will also not wait until employers have committed serious breaches of the law before taking action when there are already signs of rule-breaking,” the government stated. “Action plans bind businesses who commit minor visa breaches to a set of specific actions to help them improve and correct any issues. These are being strengthened further, with the maximum time they can be applied quadrupled from 3 to 12 months, ensuring long-term and sustained compliance with visa rules.”

The measures are part of wider efforts to tackle the root causes behind the UK’s long-term reliance on international workers and action to link migration policy with skills and wider labour market policy.

The wide-ranging crackdown aims to protect vulnerable workers from exploitation, prohibiting ‘unprincipled companies from engaging in the unethical practice of charging skilled workers for the cost of sponsorship’. 

“These costs, which can be passed onto workers at grossly inflated levels, has led to the exploitation and unfair treatment of staff, particularly within the care sector, in some cases burdened with unsustainable levels of debt to their employers,” the government stated in its press release.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship Seema Malhotra MP, said, “We committed in our manifesto to do everything in our power to ensure those who abuse our immigration system face the strongest possible consequences.” 

“No longer will employers be able to flout the rules with little consequence or exploit international workers for costs they were always supposed to pay if they choose not to recruit domestically,” Malhotra said. “Worker exploitation is completely unacceptable. Shamefully, these practices have been seen particularly in our care sector, where workers coming to the UK to support our health and social care service have all too often found themselves plunged into unjustifiable insecurity and debt. This can, and must, end.”

These changes will be part of the government’s new Employments Rights Bill, currently going through Parliament. Under the bill, the newly-established Fair Work Agency will bring together existing state enforcement functions, including regulations for employment agencies and employment businesses, enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, Statutory Sick Pay and the licensing regime for businesses operating as ‘gangmasters’ in certain sectors.

Minister for Care Stephen Kinnock said, “Migrant workers are a valuable part of our social care workforce, supporting vulnerable people across the country every day. Many have travelled to the UK with the promise of a rewarding and fulfilling career. However, there has been an unacceptable rise in the exploitation and abuse of overseas social care workers from rogue operators.”

“Cracking down on these unethical employers will protect migrant workers from unacceptable and shameful exploitation,” Kinnock said.

The new powers will also ensure employers who recruit internationally will be required to pay associated costs themselves, which the government said is fair and reasonable for employers that do not recruit from the domestic workforce.

While longer action plans are in place, employers will face restrictions on their ability to bring in overseas workers. Failure to comply or make the necessary improvements will see their visa sponsor licence revoked.

A range of sanctions will be taken against those employing illegal workers, including:

• financial penalty notices
• business closure orders
• potential prosecution

The government said it had seen a major surge in Immigration Enforcement’s targeted visits to rogue businesses suspected of employing illegal workers, with 856 visits in October alone, a 55% increase on the same month last year. Between January and October this year, more than 6,600 visits have been made, a 22% increase on the same period last year, with over 4,600 arrests being made, up 21% on last year.