Reform UK has unveiled plans to introduce some of the world’s toughest penalties for companies found employing illegal migrants, promising prison sentences for senior executives as part of a wider crackdown on illegal working.
The party said a future Reform government would introduce a so-called “Deliveroo Law”, under which chief executives and company directors whose businesses knowingly benefit from illegal labour could face jail terms. Companies found to have employed illegal migrants would also face fines equivalent to 10 per cent of their global revenues.
The proposals were announced by Reform UK’s Home Affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, who argued that illegal working was undermining Britain’s labour market and encouraging people-smuggling networks.
There are companies whose entire business model is based on profiting from illegal working,” Mr Yusuf said. “It is a slap in the face to the public. It makes a mockery of our immigration laws, takes jobs from British workers and is funding the people smugglers in the Channel.
The announcement forms part of the party’s wider pledge to “reclaim Britain’s high streets” by strengthening immigration enforcement and increasing penalties for businesses that breach employment rules.
Mr Yusuf also linked the proposals to youth unemployment, arguing that illegal working was intensifying competition for entry-level jobs.
He pointed to the number of 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training, claiming British young people were being disadvantaged by employers hiring illegal workers instead.
Corporate CEOs have been making a fortune by hiring illegal workers and undermining British youngsters,” he said. “Reform will jail them and stop illegal working for good.”
The proposals are likely to reignite debate over employer responsibility for illegal working, with existing legislation already allowing businesses to face substantial civil penalties and criminal sanctions in cases where illegal employment is carried out knowingly.
Reform’s plans would significantly increase those penalties, making corporate executives directly liable and substantially increasing financial punishments for large companies.
The announcement comes as immigration and border security continue to dominate the political agenda, with parties setting out competing approaches to tackling illegal migration and reducing small boat crossings ahead of the next general election.
Leave a Comment