Useful contacts for employers
- Agency workers' health and safety
Advice from HSE (on the Businesslink website) for those who supply or use agency workers.
- Border and Immigration Agency
The Border and Immigration Agency website contains guidance on employing migrant workers and preventing illegal employment of them. There is a helpline for more detailed queries (tel: 0300 123 4699).
- Business Link
Provides advice on employing migrant workers, including a useful interactive guide to help employers check a person's entitlement to work in GB.
- The Government website direct.gov
provides guidance on a wide range of employment matters, including working time and annual leave entitlement.
- Employing workers from overseas [PDF 100KB]
Information produced by HSE for employers of migrant workers in the agriculture and food processing industries.
- Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)
Information on courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages [ESOL]
- Gangmasters Licensing Authority
Regulates businesses that supply workers in the agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering and associated processing and packaging industries (Tel: 0845 602 5020).
- Directgov
Access to and information from a wide range of government departments.
- Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (acas)
Provides independent, up-to-date advice and guidance on employment relations (Tel: 08457 47 47 47).
- The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux
Local branches and bureaux provide advice and guidance for initiatives to support migrant workers in rural areas.
- UKNARIC
The National Recognition Information Centre for the UK can help and advise employers with checks on the equivalence of national-level overseas vocational, academic or professional qualifications of a migrant worker where these are relevant to the work being done.
- Construction Skills
Supporting the effective integration of migrant workers. Provides details on how Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards might be useful.
- North West Food Alliance
The North West Food Alliance has published guidance for employers with a multicultural workforce.
- National Farmers Union (NFU)
Provides professional representation and services including advice and guidance on health and safety to its farmer and grower members (Tel: 02476 858500).
- Worker Registration Scheme
From May 1 2004, most nationals of the new member states (except Cyprus and Malta) who wish to work for more than one month for an employer in the UK need to register under the Worker Registration Scheme.
- National Centre for Languages (CiLT)
Provides information on language services and cultural awareness training.
- Health Protection Agency
Information about the care of migrants in the healthcare system, including entitlement to treatment within the NHS.
If you are concerned that an employer may be employing overseas workers illegally, there are a number of things you can do:
- To report suspicions of illegal employment, contact (in writing) the Border and Immigration Agency, Home Office, Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon CR9 2BY. This may result in action that leads to deportation, irrespective of any action that may be taken against the employer. HSE has no influence or control over this.
- If an employer is using undocumented ('illegal') migrant workers, there may also be tax fraud implications. You can report suspicions about tax fraud on the Tax Evasion Hotline (0800 788 887). You don't need to leave your name and address.
