Operational note: Operation Tornado
Published 2 December 2024
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Operation Tornado is an ongoing effort to tackle the illegal employment and exploitation of vulnerable people in the UK. The objective is to disrupt illegal working through arresting immigration offenders, applying sanctions to employers, and encouraging compliance through engagement and increased media coverage.
Employers who break the law are potentially liable to substantial financial penalties. The maximum civil penalty for employing illegal workers is £45,000 per worker for a first offence and £60,000 per worker for repeat violations.
Immigration Enforcement teams also have a critical safeguarding role, working closely with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and other organisations to allow employees to report labour exploitation.
The latest iteration of Operation Tornado involved an intensive period of action from Wednesday 20 to Saturday 23 November, with Immigration Enforcement teams carrying out visits to businesses suspected of employing illegal workers. Visits were undertaken across a range of employment sectors, with a particular focus on this occasion on nail salons and the beauty sector more generally.
Over the 4-day period of the operation, Immigration Enforcement across the UK visited 235 premises and arrested 154 illegal workers. People from 19 different nationalities were arrested.
More than 50 UK-based businesses were served with civil penalty referral notices, potentially making them liable for penalties of up to £60,000 per worker if they are found to have failed to conduct relevant pre-employment checks.
Those arrested had arrived through irregular routes, overstayed their visas, or had no right to work while awaiting an outcome of their asylum claim.
The beauty sector has seen a significant amount of illegal working. Immigration Enforcement teams have undertaken 830 visits to premises in this sector in the year to 31 October 2024 across the UK, which have resulted in 485 arrests.
The number of illegal working visits has increased by 34% and arrests have gone up by around 25% since 5 July 2024, compared to the same period last year. There were 2,371 visits from 5 July to 31 October 2023 with 1,836 arrests, while 5 July to 31 October 2024 saw 3,188 visits with 2,299 arrests.
The data contained within this notice is the latest available operational data, as of 29 November 2024. However, as with much operational data, numbers may be revised as further information becomes available.
Definitions and further data on enforcement visits and outcomes since 2019 were reported in Additional statistics relating to Illegal Migration (April 2024). Comprehensive statistics on other immigration enforcement activity are published by the Home Office in the Immigration system statistics.