Reform UK Proposes Drastic Fines, Jail for Firms Employing Illegal Migrants
New policy includes 10% global revenue fines and 'Turkish barber tip line' amid rising enforcement actions against illegal working.
Sarah Connor
Reform UK announced plans to fine firms 10% of global revenues and jail bosses who employ illegal migrant workers.
Tips leading to successful enforcement or prosecutions will now receive a financial reward, drawn directly from recovered penalties.
Figures published in January revealed visits and arrests linked to illegal working reached their highest levels since current records began in 2019.
Some 12,791 visits took place in 2025, a 57% increase from 8,122 in the previous year, targeting businesses including nail bars, car washes, barbers, and takeaway shops.
The Home Office confirmed in July that it arrested 10 Evri workers who were on immigration bail.
Seven businesses, including Lahore One Restaurant, Basak Bakery, and Antep Tas Firin, faced fines exceeding £100,000.
Firms such as Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat stated they would tighten processes to stop account sharing after an investigation uncovered asylum seekers working as delivery drivers.
Deliveroo confirmed in February that it sacked 105 workers for illegally "sub-letting" their accounts to undocumented riders.
Illegal working should absolutely be addressed, and that’s why we’ve led the industry in cracking down on the sophisticated, organised criminals who attempt to abuse our platform.
The spokesperson added that Deliveroo runs right-to-work checks on all riders, conducts multiple daily identity checks, and uses cutting-edge fraud-detection technology.
A Home Office operation in April 2023 found 42 percent of delivery riders stopped were operating without proper paperwork.
Zia Yusuf claims that "The Tories and Labour have made Britain the softest-touch country in the world for illegal migrants to undercut British workers."
Yusuf also claims that some companies base their entire business model on profiteering from illegal working, calling it "a slap in the face to the public."
It makes a mockery of our immigration laws, takes jobs from British workers and is funding the people smugglers in the Channel.
A Home Office spokesperson countered, "Employers who break the law face severe consequences, including fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, business closures, licence revocations and prison sentences of up to five years."
A probe revealed over 1,900 mini marts, vape shops, and car washes are licensed to sponsor foreign workers under a specialist scheme.
The National Crime Agency estimates £1bn in criminal cash is laundered through high street front businesses annually.
A Trading Standards report indicates up to half of convenience stores and vape retailers in some areas may have links to organized crime.