What’s the score?

According to the website of the UK Border Agency (UKBA), it’s only trying to be helpful. “If we find you are in breach of your duties we can visit your premises to help you to comply with the law,” it says. HR managers have experienced official “help” before. One working for a large theme park describes immigration officials and police turning up without warning. “They made an assumption that everyone on the site was our employee. People were running everywhere. Fifteen were taken away. Thankfully none of them were our employees. It made the local news, which was not particularly good PR. But they were nothing to do with us. We’ve since reviewed our relationship with our third-party employers.”

Another, in the hospitality sector, remembers a “dawn raid”, although the company was warned that it was going to happen. “One of our employees had sent off for leave to remain. Apparently his case was being reviewed. Then we had a call from immigration officers. We had done all the checks on the employee’s documents but hadn’t been able to check his leave to remain. There was a 4am swoop by immigration officers and police. It was all carefully planned, but since we had co-operated fully, there was no further action against us.”