The Car Wash Association (CWA) welcomes a week-long nationwide crackdown on illegal worker hotspots, including hand car washes, in which hundreds of individuals were arrested.
The Home Office’s immigration enforcement teams spoke to a total of 1,780 individuals working in the gig ecomomy between July 20-27, which led to 280 arrests for illegal working activity, and 53 individuals having their asylum support reviewed.
The results come as the Home Office confirmed last week that immigration enforcement teams will receive a £5m funding boost to ramp up activity against illegal working, which it says will contribute to ”a major surge in enforcement visits” in coming months.
This, it claims, will allow officers to revisit problem workplaces more frequently, and also to increase intelligence gathering capabilities.
In addition to the arrests made as part of Operation Equalize, 51 businesses, including car washes, restaurants and retail premises, were issued with Civil Penalty Referral Notices. This could see them face hefty fines if they are found to have employed illegal workers and failed to conduct relevant pre-employment checks.
Minister for border security and asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, says: “Illegal working undermines our border security and we’re cracking down hard on it.”
She adds: “This government is making sure rules are respected and enforced – this operation is just one example of our relentless efforts to bear down on organised immigration crime at every level in our communities.”
The government is also tightening the law by making it a legal requirement for all companies, including those operating in the gig economy, to check that anyone working for them has the legal right to do so. These new measures will be introduced through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Brian Madderson, chairman of the CWA, says that while he welcomes the crackdown on hand car wash businesses who employ illegal workers, he would like enforcement to go futher.
”The scale of non-compliance is extremely alarming and these operations undermine legitimate car washes. Civil penalties up to millions were issued during 2024 alone, however only 5% of these fines were collected.
”Therefore, CWA urges swifter government action and harsher penalties. For instance, suspending of businesses until fines are fully paid. CWA will continue to lobby the Government and push for stronger measures.”
