Who is an illegal worker?

An illegal worker is an individual whose right to work has expired or alternatively, an individual who never had the right to work within the UK. This definition includes individuals who have entered the country illegally, or those who were granted leave to enter the UK, but have either overstayed past their visa expiry date or those who were granted leave subject to specific conditions which they are in breach of.

An individual does not need to have employee status in order to be regarded as an illegal worker. The offence of employing an illegal worker applies to any individual employed under a contract of employment, a contract of service or those undertaking an apprenticeship.

Read more about this and other questions in our

Right to work checks and civil penalties section.

Print this full page

Disclaimer

Given the fast pace of change, we would stress that this information is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.

As a hub, we have included references to articles and explainers from third parties. We have no control over and are not responsible for the content, use by you or availability of those third party websites, for any products or services you buy through those sites or for the treatment of any personal information you provide to the third party.