Further written evidence to be reported to the House
UK Borders Bill
12:00 pm
Omer Ahmed: It is also important to recognise at what point employers seek additional information to clarify immigration status. They are happy to do it at the outset of employment and are happy to accept documentation at that point. Despite subsequent guidance from the Home Office that they should not pursue it beyond that point, we find that when workers put forward issues to do with health and safety or quality control—for example, when working on the underground—only at that point, when they seek to enforce or promote some type of employment right, are they suddenly asked to produce evidence of their entitlement. That is the type of abuse that workers face. We consider that the proposals will strengthen the hands of employers in that context without any adverse consequences on employers by way of sanctions, in as much as the proposals provide for sanctions. For example, there is no commensurate sanction to the seizure of wages on the employer. That is a serious imbalance in the proposal that needs to be looked at.