Stephan Weber from law firm Sykes Anderson Llp reports

The law changed from the beginning of this month (March) so that if you employ any of the 500,000 illegal immigrants estimated to be working in the UK currently you could face an unlimited fine and/or a prison sentence of up to two years.

There are a lot of misconceptions about who is entitled to work in the UK. Nationals of a pre-1994 member state of the European Union - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK - can legitimately work in Britain. Also permitted are nationals of other countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) - Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein - and the Swiss.

Nationals of the eight countries that joined the EU in May 2004 - the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (known as \'A8\') - are generally required to register with the Home Office before they take work in the UK. Once they have been working legally for 12 months without a break in employment, the requirement to register no longer applies and they can obtain a residence permit confirming their right to live and work in the UK.

Nationals of Romania and Bulgaria (known as \'A2\' countries) that joined the EU on

From this month (March) the Immigration, Asylum & Nationality Act 2006 introduces a £10,000 fine (twice what it previously was) for employing illegal workers negligently and two years jail plus an unlimited fine for employing an illegal worker knowingly.

To avoid risking employing an illegal worker you must see certain documents from the job applicant before employing them and take reasonable steps to check the validity of those documents. You should copy the documents (including the relevant pages of passports and travel documents) and keep the copies for at least two years after the employment terminates.

You must satisfy yourself that any photographs in the documents are actually of the person presenting them and that the person\'s appearance is consistent with information such as date of birth and sex.

The documents you should see include the following:

A passport or national identity card showing the holder is a national of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder is exempt from immigration control.

A birth certificate issued in the UK, Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland.

A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.

A letter issued by the Home Office or the Border & Immigration Agency to the holder indicating they are allowed to stay in the UK indefinitely.

A passport or travel document endorsed to show the holder is allowed to stay in the UK.

Or any of the following issued by the Border & Immigration Agency: A Biometric Immigration Document; a work permit or other approval to take employment; a certificate of application; a residence card or document; an Application Registration Card; or an Immigration Status Document.

And just a word of warning: carry out checks on all job applicants in order to avoid accusations of race discrimination.

Most nationals of states outside of Europe are subject to immigration controls and require work permits, which you should always see before employing them. From this month, a points system begins for immigration from outside the EEA. It reflects the aptitude and experience of the applicant, the level of need for their skills and how likely they are to comply with their immigration requirements.

There are five tiers and for each one applicants will need to score sufficient points to work in the UK and stay here.

The new system will be phased in between now and the beginning of next year, starting with tier one (entrepreneurs, investors and graduates) and finishing with tier four (students). Those likely to be working in the stone and construction industries come from tiers two (skilled workers) and three (unskilled workers satisfying temporary shortages)."