§ 26. Dr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect on equal opportunities and racial equality at work of his proposal to make employers liable for the immigration status of their employees. [80977]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThere have been reports that some employers may be adopting discriminatory practices when seeking to secure a defence under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. The Government share the concern of the Commission for Racial Equality and others at the substance of the reports, whilst recognising that such action may not be directly attributable to section 8.
Proposals at Clause 13 of the Immigration and Asylum Bill, currently before Parliament, are designed to strengthen the safeguards against possible discriminatory practices. They re-emphasise to employers their statutory duty to avoid racial discrimination in their recruitment practices when seeking to secure the statutory defence.