Nunn Hayward - Abacus

Abacus March 2008

ELIGIBILTY TO WORK IN THE UK

From 29 February 2008 employers who do not check whether their employees are eligible to work in the UK will face a penalty of up to Ł10000 per illegal employee.

From the above date prospective employees must be able to produce valid documents to enable them to start work in the UK.

The acceptable documents are as follows and fall into two lists, these being List A and List B.

LIST A

The acceptable documents include a passport showing that the holder is a British citizen, or an identity card showing that the holder is a national of a state within the European Economic Area or Switzerland, or a full birth certificate issued in the UK which includes the name(s) of at least one of the holder’s parents, along with an official document giving the person’s permanent NI number and their name, issued by a government agency or a previous employer.

Where a prospective employee cannot produce the documentation above, they must be asked if they can produce documents from List B.

LIST B

Documents on this list will have been provided by a UK Government agency, but only provide a temporary right to work in the UK. Employers will have to check an employee’s continuing right to work in the UK every 12 months. These documents should have been extended or renewed by a Government Agency.

If an employee no longer has the right to work here and cannot provide proof that they are in the process of obtaining approval to work in the UK then their employment will have to be terminated.

EMPLOYEES FROM THE EEC

It should be noted that not all nationals from EEC countries can work without restrictions. All employees should be asked to provide a document showing their nationality.

In May 2004, 8 new countries joined the EEC these include Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Workers from these countries are referred to as “Accession State Workers”. Although employers are not legally bound to conduct the above checks, they should ensure that the employee registers with the Border and Immigration Agency within one month of starting work, unless they are exempted from doing so.

Two other countries, Bulgaria and Romania, joined the EEC on 1 January 2007. Workers from these countries are free to come to the UK but must have a valid accession worker authorisation document before they can start work.

EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITIES

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that the documents provided belong to the rightful owner, that photographs and dates of birth are consistent with the appearance of the employee and that all documentation is with in date. Employers also need to check whether the documents are forged although only to the extent that it is obvious that they not genuine.

During 2008 the government will be issuing Biometric Immigration Documents (BID).These will indicate whether the person is allowed stay indefinitely in the UK. Guidelines on the new rules are available from www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk

In addition to this the Home office is also offering an Employer Checking Service for information on documents issued by them to enable the employer to ascertain whether the employee is entitled to work in the UK.

The Home Office will also be publishing a new code on avoiding racial discrimination when checking a person’s right to work in the UK.

STOP PRESS – Get Into The “2008” Habit!

HMRC have announced a change in the enquiry window for 2008 Tax Returns linking it to the filing date. The enquiry window will close 12 months from the date on which HMRC receive the return.

Linking the end of the enquiry window to the date a particular return is submitted provides earlier certainty for taxpayers who file early, by bringing forward the date at which they can be sure their return will not be subject to enquiry.

This will add to the list of “why to file your Tax Return early” reasons, but there are many other good reasons to get it done promptly.

If you need further information, please contact Steve Cook, Tax Partner at steve@nunn-hayward.com or call 01753 888211.

Important Tax Dates

31 March 2008		End of corporation tax financial year

		End of CT61 quarterly period
		Filing date for Corporation Tax Return form CT600 for period ended 31 March 2007

Please contact us to discuss the above further

Tel: 01753 888211 Fax: 01753 889669
Email: abacus@nunn-hayward.com
Nunn Hayward, Sterling House, 20 Station Road, Gerrards Cross, Bucks SL9 8EL.

Chartered Accountants, Registered Auditors and Insolvency Practitioners. This publication has been prepared as a guide only to topics of current financial and business interest. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of any material in this publication can be accepted by either the authors or Nunn Hayward. All rights reserved.

If you would like to subscribe to future editions of the Abacus Newsletter then please e-mail your name and address and we will add you to our mailing list.