Rule-breaking employers to be banned from hiring overseas workers for at least two years

The Government has announced that employers who commit serious breaches of employment or immigration law will be banned from hiring overseas workers as part of a Government crackdown on visa abuse and exploitation.  The new measures will be made alongside the Employment Rights Bill. 

Under the changes, employers who repeatedly breach visa rules or commit 'serious employment breaches', such as not paying the National Minimum Wage, will be barred from hiring overseas workers for at least two years. Currently, employers can be sanctioned for a maximum of 12 months.

The Government has also said it will not wait until employers have committed serious breaches before taking action, when there are already signs of rule breaking.  Sponsor licence action plans, which restrict employers from sponsoring migrant visas, will be strengthened, with the maximum time they can be applied quadrupled from 3 to 12 months.

The changes will also prevent employers from charging skilled workers for the cost of sponsorship.  The Government asserts that such costs can be passed to workers at grossly inflated levels, which has led to the exploitation and unfair treatment of staff, particularly those in the care sector, in some cases burdened with unsustainable levels of debt to their employers.