The Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006

Unauthorised employment of accession State national – employer offence

12.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), an employer who employs an accession State national subject to worker authorisation during the accession period shall be guilty of an offence if—

(a) the employee does not hold an accession worker authorisation document; or

(b) the employee’s accession worker authorisation document is subject to conditions that preclude him from taking up the employment.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), in proceedings under this regulation it shall be a defence to prove that before the employment began there was produced to the employer a document that appeared to him to be a registration certificate issued to the worker and—

(a) the registration certificate contained a statement that the worker has unconditional access to the United Kingdom labour market; or

(b) the registration certificate contained a statement that the worker is a student who has access to the United Kingdom labour market for 20 hours a week and the employer has not employed that worker for more than 20 hours a week.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), in proceedings under this regulation it shall be a defence to prove that before the employment began there was produced to the employer a document that appeared to him to be an accession worker authorisation document that authorised the worker to take up the employment.

(4) The defence afforded by paragraph (2) and (3) shall not be available in any case where the employer—

(a) did not take and retain a copy of the relevant document; or

(b) knew that his employment of the worker constituted an offence under this regulation.

(5) A person guilty of an offence under this regulation shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(6) Where an offence under this regulation committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of—

(a) any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate; or

(b) any person purporting to act in such a capacity,

he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(7) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (6) shall apply in relation to acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

(8) Where an offence under this regulation is committed by a partnership (other than a limited partnership) each partner shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(9) Paragraph (6) shall have effect in relation to a limited partnership as if—

(a) a reference to a body corporate were a reference to a limited partnership; and

(b) a reference to an officer of the body corporate were a reference to a partner.

(10) An offence under this regulation shall be treated as—

(a) a relevant offence for the purpose of sections 28B and 28D of the 1971 Act(1) (search, entry and arrest);

(b) an offence under Part III of that Act (criminal proceedings) for the purposes of sections 28E, 28G and 28H(2) of that Act (search after arrest); and

(c) an offence referred to in section 28AA(3) of that Act (arrest with warrant).

(1)

Section 28B was inserted by section 129 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (c.33) and section 28D was inserted by section 131 of that Act; both sections have been amended by sections 144 and 150 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c.41).

(2)

Sections 28E, 28G and 28 H were inserted by sections 132, 134 and 135 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999(c.33) respectively.

(3)

Section 28AA was inserted by section 152 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41).