Immigration raids, employer collusion and the Immigration Act 2016

In July 2016 Immigration Enforcement (a branch of the Home Office) raided a number of Byron burger branches throughout London resulting in the arrest and detention of 35 Byron workers. Byron cooperated with the Home Office raid by helping to arrange ‘arrest by appointment’ meetings for staff, informing workers that they had to attend health and safety meetings on ‘the dangers of cooking medium to medium rare burgers’. In light of Byron’s press release stating that the firm was under a ‘legal obligation’ to cooperate with Home Office officials,1 and following royal assent to the Immigration Act 2016 (which increases the enforcement powers of immigration officers), the first two sections of this article set out the legal limits on employers’ cooperation with Immigration Enforcement. In establishing that employers owe few duties to the Home Office, the final section will consider the competing duties owed between employer and employee, asking whether such duties override immigration obligations.