Section 15 — Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006: Penalty

Penalty 15 1 It is contrary to this section to employ an adult subject to immigration control if—

a he has not been granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or b his leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom—

i is invalid, ii has ceased to have effect (whether by reason of curtailment, revocation, cancellation, passage of time or otherwise), or iii is subject to a condition preventing him from accepting the employment.

2 The Secretary of State may give an employer who acts contrary to this section a notice requiring him to pay a penalty of a specified amount not exceeding the prescribed maximum.

3 An employer is excused from paying a penalty if he shows that he complied with any prescribed requirements in relation to the employment.

4 But the excuse in subsection (3) shall not apply to an employer who knew, at any time during the period of the employment, that it was contrary to this section.

5 The Secretary of State may give a penalty notice without having established whether subsection (3) applies.

6 A penalty notice must—

a state why the Secretary of State thinks the employer is liable to the penalty, b state the amount of the penalty, c specify a date, at least 28 days after the date specified in the notice as the date on which it is given, before which the penalty must be paid, d specify how the penalty must be paid, e explain how the employer may object to the penalty or make an appeal against it , and f explain how the Secretary of State may enforce the penalty.

7 An order prescribing requirements for the purposes of subsection (3) may, in particular—

a require the production to an employer of a document of a specified description;

b require the production to an employer of one document of each of a number of specified descriptions;

c require an employer to take specified steps to verify, retain, copy or record the content of a document produced to him in accordance with the order;

d require action to be taken before employment begins;

e require action to be taken at specified intervals or on specified occasions during the course of employment.

8 An order under subsection (3) containing provision described in subsection (7)(a), (b) or (c) may, in particular—

a specify a document generated by a DVS-registered person or a DVS-registered person of a specified description;

b specify a document which was provided to such a person in order to generate such a document;

c specify steps involving the use of services provided by such a person.

9 In subsection (8), “ DVS-registered person ” means a person who is registered in the DVS register maintained under Part 2 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (“ the DVS register ”).

10 An order under subsection (3) which specifies a description of DVS-registered person may do so by, for example, describing a DVS-registered person whose entry in the DVS register includes a note relating to specified services (see section 36 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025).