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Consequences of non-compliance

All divisions, departments, faculties and colleges have a responsibility to ensure that every employee, and every migrant visitor, however brief the visit, is properly entitled to work in, and/or participate in the activities of, the University (see Employers’ responsibilities). It is essential that the University complies with the legislation of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, and with the policies and regulations of the Home Office’s UK Border Agency (UKBA). The University’s compliance with the law will be checked, probably in unannounced visits direct to the employing institutions, by the UKBA.

The consequences of non-compliance are very serious, and the penalties that can be imposed are potentially severe as follows:

• On-the-spot fines of up to £10,000 for each illegal migrant;
• A maximum 2 year prison sentence and/or an unlimited fine if illegal migrant workers are employed knowingly;
• Down-grading of the University’s sponsor licence to a B rating (partially compliant) with subsequent timed action plan to regain A status, and further regular compliance visits to the same, and other, departments;
• Withdrawal of the sponsor (i.e. University) licence, with the consequence that all sponsored migrants would have to leave the University and the UK.

During a compliance visit to a department/college, which is likely to be unannounced, UKBA Compliance Officers can speak to migrant workers, colleagues, academic staff and managers, and have the right to inspect personnel files and any other records, such as recruitment and payroll details. They will carry out a detailed and thorough audit.

Prior to the introduction of the points-based system, employers would not have expected a visit from the UKBA unless a particular problem had been identified. The current situation is very different. The UKBA now employs teams of Compliance Officers whose role is to visit employers to check compliance. The University of Oxford is a high profile employer, and there is absolutely no doubt that it will receive visits from UKBA Compliance Officers.

As an indication of the UKBA’s readiness to check compliance and act accordingly, fines totaling £10 million were issued to employers in the first 5 weeks following the introduction of the new points-based system.

Apart from the fines and risk of imprisonment, the failure of any one department or college to comply with the regulations potentially risks the expulsion, not only of all migrant staff in that particular department or college, but also, since the University is a single sponsor, of all migrants in the whole University. In addition, the UK Border Agency has a specific policy on the publication of non-compliant employer details i.e. it has a ‘name and shame’ policy by publishing a list of all non-compliant employers on its web site which is readily accessible to the national and international press. This represents a potentially serious threat to the reputation of any non-compliant department or college, as well as to the reputation of the University as a whole. The need to ensure compliance cannot be over-emphasised.

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