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.
Zia Yusuf confirmed the law's unveiling on Wednesday, establishing unprecedented global penalties for employers of illegal migrants.
Reform UK also announced plans for a 'Turkish barber tip line' to report businesses employing illegal migrant workers, a move to encourage public reporting.
Police and trading standards would follow up on credible tips, with financial rewards from recovered penalties for tips leading to successful enforcement or prosecutions.
Current legislation imposes fines of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker on businesses that employ individuals without the right to work and fail to carry out correct checks.
A Home Office spokesperson stated that employers who break the law face severe consequences, including business closures, licence revocations, and prison sentences of up to five years.
Figures published in January showed 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 such as nail bars, car washes, barbers, and takeaway shops.
The Home Office announced 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, were fined over £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, encouraging other affected industries to do the same.
Delivery riders are typically self-employed contractors, and platforms usually check the account holder, not substitutes.
A Home Office operation in April 2023 found 42 per cent of delivery riders stopped were operating without proper paperwork.
JustEat's global revenue for the first half of 2025 was £1.51bn.
Zia Yusuf claimed that "The Tories and Labour have made Britain the softest-touch country in the world for illegal migrants to undercut British workers."
Zia Yusuf indicated that This situation makes a mockery of our immigration laws, takes jobs from British workers and is funding the people smugglers in the Channel.
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.
Reform UK also announced plans to introduce a national licensing regime for vape shops, capped at 1,000 premises.