A total of seven employees from an engineering firm have been detained due to the fact that they were in gainful employment without the correct UK work permits and immigration documentation.
The UK Border Agency received information regarding MAC RK Precision Engineering Ltd, an engineering firm in Southall. After questioning the 20 staff, seven were arrested for UK immigration offences.
The four Pakistani men, two Indian men and an Indian have now been detained awaiting their removal from the country.
Meanwhile, the business should be checking back through its paperwork regarding the offenders to look for proof that it carried out the required right-to-work checks on the individuals before hiring them. These checks could be as simple as asking to see a UK work permit or visa before taking them on.
Alex Legg, chief immigration officer who led the operation, commented: “Where we find people who are in the UK illegally we will seek to remove them. But we are also looking to target the employers who take on illegal workers and fuel illegal immigration.”
However, he acknowledged that not every company will be aware of what is required from them and noted that the agency is “happy to work with businesses to let them know what checks need to be done on staff, but those who choose to break the law should know that we are out there looking for them and they will face heavy fines”.