Employers fear they will be left to enforce new migrant worker restrictions

Businesses could face fines of up to £5,000 if they illegally employ Bulgarian or Romanian workers once the two Balkan countries join the European Union in January. While workers themselves could also be subject to £1,000 on-the-spot fines.

The fines were announced by the Home Secretary, John Reid, as part of a package of measures to prevent a flood of migrants after the next round of EU enlargement. The measures will allow Romanians and Bulgarians to live freely in the UK - those who are highly qualified will be able to seek jobs, as now, under the skilled migrants programme, the self-employed will also face no restrictions but low skilled workers will.

As Workplace Law previously reported, in August the Home Office revealed that about 600,000 people have come to work in the UK from the eight nations that joined the EU in 2004, a far cry from the Government’s prediction of 13,000 per year. Government and local authorities fear a further influx could prove politically damaging.

At the time the figures were released they increased the debate about whether the right to work should be limited when Bulgaria and Romania join the EU in 2007. Now, in a written statement, Reid has said that Britain will not continue with its "open-door" policy regarding work. However, a limited number of unskilled workers, not exceeding 20,000 a year, will be taken on to carry out jobs in the food-processing and agriculture sectors.

Concerns have been raised by businesses and business groups who fear that it will be left up to employers to enforce the restrictions and that the measures will simply push more people into working illegally.

The Federation of Small Businesses has expressed concern that the pressure which will now be put on businesses to monitor who is a legal worker will be too much to bear.

It has commented that as all Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will be allowed to come to the UK but only a small number will be given the right to work this will mean that businesses will be forced to check on who is and who is not a legal worker from these countries.

John Walker, FSB National Policy Chairman, commented:

“The Government agreed to the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the EU. For it to now want to put up barriers to that entry makes no sense.

“Under this proposal anyone from the two new member states will be able to come to Britain but not all will be given the right to work. It will create a mess and employers will be caught in the middle of it.

“Businesses will not accept being asked to become pseudo-immigration officers by the Government. After treating the previous new entrants in one way, which was clear for all to deal with, the differing treatment for Bulgarian and Romanian workers is unfair to them and to small businesses.”

Commenting on the measures TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said:

''The Government cannot stop the free movement of new EU citizens, nor can it prevent them working as self-employed once they are here.

"Bogus self-employment and cash-in-hand jobs are two of the commonest ways that workers are exploited."