Illegal Working Raids Hit Record Levels — What It Means for Employers
The Home Office announced in January 2026 that illegal working enforcement has reached the highest level in British history. The numbers are stark: over 17,400 raids since July 2024, more than 12,300 arrests, and £130 million in civil penalties issued to employers during 2025 alone.
For the businesses raided — and increasingly, those businesses include restaurants, hotels, care homes and construction sites, not just the car washes and nail bars of the headlines — the experience is disruptive, frightening and potentially devastating. Fines of £45,000 per illegal worker for a first offence are now routine. For sponsor licence holders, the consequences extend far beyond a penalty notice: a single enforcement visit can trigger licence suspension, putting every sponsored worker’s visa at risk.
Three things stand out from the latest figures.
The scope is expanding. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 will extend right-to-work obligations to gig workers, subcontractors and agency staff for the first time. Operational guidance is expected in 2026–27, but employers who rely on flexible labour should be preparing now.
The methods are changing. The Home Office is cross-referencing HMRC PAYE data against its Sponsor Management System and conducting remote desk audits. You no longer need a tip-off to attract attention — a data discrepancy is enough.
The gap between raids and outcomes is significant. Of nearly 9,000 arrests in 2025, only around a quarter resulted in detention and roughly 12% in the person actually leaving the UK. That means a large number of businesses — including many where no wrongdoing was found — experienced the full disruption of an enforcement visit with no immigration consequences at all.
None of this is an argument against compliance. It is an argument for taking it seriously before enforcement arrives rather than after.
What employers need to know
We’ve published a detailed guide covering the full picture: the penalty framework, the expanding legal obligations, what actually happens during a raid, your rights when Immigration Enforcement arrives, and what to do if you receive a civil penalty notice. Read the full guide: Illegal Working and Employer Compliance →
If you hold a sponsor licence, or if your business operates in a sector that is being actively targeted — hospitality, care, construction, retail — the guide is worth reading now, not after you receive a visit.
How we can help
At Migrant Law Partnership, we conduct sponsor licence compliance audits, advise on right-to-work procedures, and represent employers facing civil penalties or licence action. If you’re not sure whether your systems would survive an enforcement visit, we can tell you.