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As the main harvest season approaches, bosses in the agricultural sector are warned they face jail or financial ruin if caught employing illegal migrant workers.

The stark warning comes from leading law firm Clarke Willmott as thousands of migrant workers look to work in the agricultural sector during harvest time.

Migrants are vital to the economy and agriculture in particular, but the tough new measures on illegal workers mean employers face stiff penalties of £10,000 for every illegal worker they hire - whether knowingly or not - or up to two years in prison.

Not only that, say specialists at leading law firm Clarke Willmott, but there is also the potential for bosses who do try to comply with the rules to face employment tribunals for race discrimination.

Kate Gardner, Partner in the Employment Team at Clarke Willmott in Taunton, said: "Obviously the new laws apply all year round, but this time of year especially when many migrant workers seek employment in the agricultural sector, bosses should be aware of their responsibilities and the penalties they face if they are caught employing illegal workers, or fail to check whether a worker is legally in the UK."

She added: "Furthermore, employers found to be breaking the law could be stripped of their right to employ any migrant workers in the UK. Clearly removal of this right could be devastating to many agricultural businesses who rely on migrant workers to keep their business going."

Advice for employers to help them avoid the pitfalls are: Seek proof of all potential new recruits' rights to work in the UK, whatever their nationality, or what you may believe to be their nationality.

Photocopy all workers' passports or other immigration status documents showing they are entitled to work in the UK, together with a copy of any Home Office ID card.

Record and keep safe all migrant workers' addresses and telephone numbers.

The government crackdown is part of a range of measures being introduced this year, including an Australian-style points system for managing immigration and biometric identity cards for any foreign national in the country for more than three months.

Employers must also conduct checks every 12 months on migrant workers who have limited leave to remain in the UK and the Borders and Immigration Agency (BIA) has issued a code of practice to help employers avoid unlawful discrimination whilst seeking to prevent illegal working.

"Employers need to develop systems to identify when further checks should be made if they are to escape prosecution," said Kate.

"It's vitally important that employers are fully aware of these new immigration rules in order to avoid the stiff penalties."

3:02pm Wednesday 3rd September 2008

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