Clause 12 - Objection
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill
4:00 pm
Cheryl Gillan (Shadow Minister, (Assisted By Shadow Law Officers); Chesham and Amersham, Conservative)
Then I will stick to the amendments and hope that my points fall within the ambit of the debate.
Amendment No. 25 leaves out ''or'' and amendment No. 26 adds
''(d) the amount of the penalty would threaten the future viability of the employer's business.'.''
The Minister must appreciate that there are small businesses that may fall foul of the measure and the imposition of a fine upon that business could threaten the liability of the business. In that case, the consequential amendments, which concern negotiations about a timetable for payment, should make sense, being the type of protection for small businesses that would appeal to the Minister. That is certainly the reason for amendment No. 28, in which I propose that a timetable is set out for payment after consultation with the employer. I am sure that the last thing the Minister would want to do is put one of our small businesses out of business by an unduly onerous burden.