Will I get into trouble?

[JessieBellll]

In the UK there is a new law where employers have to check peoples right to work before they employ them. I didn't realise this new law was in place and employed few people without evidence of right but I knew they had the right I just didn't check. This was couple of days ago

I have got their evidence and I uploaded it on the system so they have the right to work now. Nobody but my colleague knows about this. Do you think I will get into trouble?

[electromagnetic]

Doubt you’ll get into trouble so long as their records of it during their employment. You can easily say they’re documents were simply pending to come.
It’s not like Boris has his people roaming the cities trying to find who’s breaking rules.

[JessieBellll]

The thing is we need prove they applied if they are pending. I didn't get ir

[JessieBellll]

That's before they start employment

[electromagnetic]

I’m certain if they do audit your company, they won’t penalize you as at the time the law is new. Plus you do have their documents now. I think things have gotten a little outta whack with brexit taking over.
If you’re still a little worried, seek advice for a legal person.

[JessieBellll]

Could they find out somehow when the document was uploaded? Because there is no date on the system

[electromagnetic]

I’m not sure to be completely honest. I’m just a guest in the UK. Ultimately I think your best bet is to wait and see.

[JessieBellll]

My company already had their audit.

Is this good?

[Twalli]

Probably not. 1) You actually knew even though you didn't check and 2) Now you have proof provided. It's like serving alcohol to someone in a bar who is over the legal limit without checking ID, even though you should legally. Mostly it's done to regulars or friends of the bartender, so age is known without the need to check.

[DJB72]

I doubt it since you've submitted it. It's more likely that the law is to prevent big businesses from using cheap foreign workers instead of British citizens.

[JessieBellll]

They are all foreign

[JessieBellll]

And it's because of brexit

[DJB72]

Brexit has advantages and disadvantages for everyone, just as staying in the EU would have done.

Clearly the extra paperwork is a headache for businesses, but it should - in principle - make it easier to employ individuals from outside the EU. The issues around trade and business with the countries outside the 26 countries of the EU have been well documented for 50 years. Living in Africa for most of the past 18 years has given me a somewhat different perspective on being part of the EU than most British people. The day after the Brexit vote, every British embassy and High Commission on the continent was approached by the trade ministries of the African nations with a view to re-establish the trading agreements lost when Britain joined what was then called the Common Market. The result for Britain was a milk lake, butter mountain and forced production of certain foods and crops, artificially created demand raised prices on some items and dropped them on others. The UK was required to import products from EU countries it had previously bought from several African countries at lower prices, damaging those economies badly in some cases and perpetuating the economic crises on the African continent.

[DJB72]

À billion or so people in Africa. Maybe the famine in the mid 80s of Ethiopia would have been averted if those economies had continued to trade with Britain the way they had before the Common Market. We can't possibly know now. What we CAN do is to help those economies recover now by trading with them. Stabilise the economies of Africa and you protect not only their population but your own as a nation. By building a trading network with all 196 (ish) countries in the world we prevent not only economic collapse and starvation in both directions, but by building mutual reliance on each other we reduce the likelihood of another world war, no matter our different philosophical approaches. Communist or capitalist in approach, the population still needs protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. We all live by the rule of 3: 3 minutes without oxygen, 3 days without water, 3 months without food. Approximately, anyway.

[purplepoppy]

It's a pointless law because you need things like national insurance number anyway unless your paying them cash in hand to avoid tax etc. They're more interested in companies who take on huge numbers of migrants than people like you so relax.

[JessieBellll]

I work in recruitment. All our people are migtants

[purplepoppy]

Then your in deep shit. It's your job to know the regulations and you've got no excuse. Just put it down to clerical error due to staff shortages because of covid or a computer oopsie.

[JessieBellll]

We don't have to declare it as an error

[JessieBellll]

We don't put a reason down

[purplepoppy]

Doesn't sound ligit. If the authorities investigate the matter they'll want want to see that the company looked into the slip up. Any respectable company would have procedures in place.

[JessieBellll]

The authorities don't know about it.

[JessieBellll]

And it's because of brexit

[bolverk]

Should not think so as you acted to rectify the error as soon as you became aware of it though the DWP may have a few questions, If you'd let it drag on DWP would have had more than a few things to say when they found out

[JessieBellll]

What does dwp has to do with it

[chriscdi]

Technically its not your fault, its the companies responsibility to ask you for these type of documents or what not, so you can't get in trouble, at the most the one getting in trouble would be the company or the employer that hired you

[chriscdi]

by the way this is in the US but it wouldn't make sense for you to get in trouble

[JessieBellll]

Yes but I acted as their representative for them so I could get fired

[chriscdi]

They can't expect you to know all the laws, mostly if its a new law that was passed recently

[chriscdi]

Now the only way you can get in trouble was if they asked for it and you didn't have it, not only did they not ask but you have it, the fact that you got it that means they got nothing on you

[chriscdi]

And you didn't have it and you work their*

[JessieBellll]

The thing is it's a widely publicised law and since I am in recruitment I should know about it

[chriscdi]

No the company should know as they are the ones hiring people working for their company, you haven't done anything illegal because you have it, not to mention that you found out about this situation and you fix it, the company is hiring people without the knowledge of this new law, who you think is guilty here?

[JessieBellll]

They know about the law but I forgot about it that's the whole point

[chriscdi]

Thats even worse for them if they they knew and didn't ask for it, now if they asked for it and you forgot and didn't give it to them then thats a different story but even then, you gave it to them, again they got nothing on you

[AndyOh]

Unless somebody tells on you or you run to the authorities and confess your mistake, I doubt anyone will care; They have bigger problems to go after.
I would not worry about it.

[Anon621]

No probably not since the law is new and usually most countries are lenient for citizens to adjust to new laws before they start cracking down on mishaps.

[DWornock]

Since you submitted the info, you will not and in the unlikely event, you are ever questioned, just say, "As the law requires, I verified that they were eligible before I hired them. After I hired them, I submitted the info."

[JessieBellll]

What if my college snitches on me

[DWornock]

You verified the information but the internet (modem) failed before you could submit the information so you submitted the info after service was restored and after completing other more urgent tasks. No one can prove otherwise since that would require proving a negative which is almost impossible.

[JessieBellll]

But the information was submitted 6 days after they started working.

Well there is no date on there

[DWornock]

Well, you got to it as soon as you had time, but your other duties were more urgent. In any event, based on your initial post, "you must verify their right to work before employing them." Perhaps the law doesn't also require that the information be submitted before they are hired because if you have critical work that must be done perhaps that is more important than quick reporting.

It may be like registering your car tags late. You pay a late fee penalty but it is not a crime if you were not driving your car. Therefore, likely, there may be a small money penalty for late reporting but, since you verified, there was no crime.

[JessieBellll]

Hopefully I won't be asked about it

[DWornock]

Public employees are lazy and don't want to do any more work than absolutely necessary. Therefore, unless someone reports and pushes the issue, in my opinion, they are not even going to look at it.

[Dazed0N0Confused]

If it was later added to they system, i dont see why there would be an issue.

[JessieBellll]

That's what I am hoping

[SGTAdam]

I think you're okay, some business and jobs can allow little slip ups, but just be careful and approach it with honesty that you didn't know. Usually things like that can be okay.

[serious]

I don't think so because even though you made a mistake but you took the corrective action in time so you need not worry.

[nolabels]

I have absolutely no familiarity with your country's laws, but it sounds OK to me.

[Anpu23]

I doubt it. I can't imagine that an oversight that was corrected would be an issue

[JessieBellll]

Because its illegal

[Anpu23]

Yes, but the law certainly isn't so strict as to not allow for corrective action. I know in the US if you were to go in front of a judge and explain they'd just let it go.

[JessieBellll]

What do you think

[JessieBellll]

Most we could get is a civil penalty

[Anpu23]

I imagine that it won't go anywhere. That the state has more important things to do.

[JessieBellll]

It's in uk

[Anpu23]

I know. And I'm not as familiar with UK law but from what I've seen it seems that the legal system is basically fair. Especially on little things like this.

[Anpu23]

Obviously I've never been an employer in the UK. But I have been in the US. We also require right to work papers, you collect them throw them in a file and are supposed to present them if asked. I've never been asked and my first company was in 1990. I've been owner, manager, supervisor etc for most of my career I can't think of any time I had to produce right to work papers. I get that the UK is different, but I can't imagine that it's that different. It's a bureaucratic necessity, that you complied with, though perhaps a little late. Some pencil pusher somewhere may notice but even so I would thinl the state had more important things to worry about

[Pete671]

I doubt it, there was never any intent to do anything wrong,,,

[Waldoe]

I doubt it, don't worry

[Christsdisciple15]

I don’t think so no

[Wiredone]

You should be fine

[JessieBellll]

Why?

[Wiredone]

You at least entered the information so it's on file. As long as you dated it before they were hired you should be good

[JessieBellll]

We don't date it

[JessieBellll]

It's just there or not

[Wiredone]

Then you should be fine

[JessieBellll]

Unless my colleague snitches on me

[karaspara]

You should be fine

[Joker_]

Yeah

[EstevanMadrid898]

No your all good

[JessieBellll]

How do you know

[EstevanMadrid898]

It's a guess but personally I wouldn't worry about it if anything I would say I forgot but I fixed it