Campaign to tackle illegal working in construction industry

23 October 2015

A Home Office enforcement campaign has been launched to root out illegal working in the construction industry.

‘Operation Magnify’ will involve Home Office enforcement officers carrying out operations specifically to target those businesses in the sector which are employing and exploiting illegal migrant workers.

The Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire hosted a meeting with construction industry leaders about plans to end illegal working in the sector. He said that coming together with key employers and influencers in the construction industry is a chance to engage with those who are keen to maintain the integrity of the sector. Illegal working undermines legitimate employers, harms the reputation of the industry, drives down wages and denies employment to hard-working UK citizens and people who are working in the UK legally. Employers within the construction industry have a critical role to play in helping to combat this by ensuring they carry out the straightforward ‘Right to Work’ checks on potential employees that prevent illegal working in the UK.

The roundtable event was an opportunity for those in the construction industry to share their experiences of illegal working in the sector, find out more about measures introduced by the government to tackle the problem, and discuss what more can be done. Those attending included representatives from construction companies working across the public and commercial sectors and industry bodies including the Construction Industry Council, the Chartered Institute of Building and Build UK.