Dealing effectively with clandestine entrant penalties

Ever been fined for something you didn’t know you had done?

This isn’t a flippant comment or one of those brain teasers, it’s a situation that many hauliers who operate internationally are facing, every time they get on a ferry or a train to come back into the UK – and it’s costing businesses thousands of pounds, and in some cases, hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The reason?? Their vehicle was found to be carrying a clandestine entrant, an illegal immigrant who has secreted themselves somewhere in or on the vehicle in the hope of being transported to a better life.?

How damaging to a business could that be?

Well, since February 2023, which is when the Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme was overhauled, transporting just one clandestine entrant into the UK could land you with a penalty of ￡26,000, and that’s a 500% increase from the previous version of the scheme – and enough to tip many small haulage businesses over the edge.

To fully understand the impact of the new version of ‘the scheme’, operators need to know how the penalties, that are administered by UK Border Force have changed – so here goes.

1. The maximum penalty for carrying one clandestine entrant into the UK was increased from ￡2,000 to ￡10,000 per entrant.? The driver and the operator are liable for a penalty, so that’s an aggregated penalty of ￡20,000, for which the operator is liable.
2. A new penalty was introduced for the offence of ‘failing to adequately secure a goods vehicle against unauthorized access, which include unaccompanied trailers with the maximum penalty being ￡6,000.? This penalty is a standalone penalty, meaning it can be imposed whether a clandestine entrant is being carried or not – it is based on an assessment of the physical attributes of the security systems being used and their effectiveness.? However, the fact that a vehicle or trailer is carrying a clandestine entrant is clear evidence that said vehicle or trailer was not secured against unauthorised access, so the ￡6,000 is added to the former aggregated penalty to make the ￡26,000, stated earlier.

At the same time that ‘the scheme’ was overhauled, UK Border Force introduced a new ‘Level of Penalty – Code of Practice’ which sets out that the starting point for the imposition of any penalties, will be the maximum available, and then apply any ‘discounts’ that the operator may be able to claim.? Wow discounts, it’s like the January sales come early!

What then are the discounts that can be claimed?? Well, this depends on whether the driver and/or the operator have received any previous penalties, the driver’s and operator’s financial circumstances, and whether the operator is a member of the Clandestine Entrants Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme, and the level of discount available for being a member is 50%, so long as the scheme conditions have been met.

Suddenly, the worst-case scenario penalty of ￡26,000 is slashed to ￡13,000, which is a whole better proposition as a starting point for challenging the imposition of the penalty in the first place, especially where there are multiple clandestine entrants being carried.

Joining the Clandestine Entrants Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme involves a process of providing proof that the operators systems, processes and procedures comply with the requirements of the scheme, and that specific checks of the vehicle and the load are made before the journey commences, and at points during the journey, where the vehicle stops.

In short, operators need to prove that an effective system for adequately securing the vehicle and preventing the carriage of clandestine entrants, that complies with Carrier’s Liability Regulations 2022, is in place and that it is properly managed.?

Managing the process effectively means ensuring drivers receive appropriate scheme training and refresher training at a frequency of at least every 6 months and reviewing driver performance by carrying out quality checks records produced and having a system in place to address any errors or omissions with the driver.

If an operator can prove compliance with all of this, then they are well placed to challenge the imposition of the penalty, whilst at the same time being able to have the 50% discount applied.

Many operators are finding the process of proving that they have an effective system for adequately securing the vehicle and preventing the carriage of clandestine entrants, that complies with Carrier’s Liability Regulations 2022, so as a result Steve Rounds & Associates Limited have introduced a Clandestine Entrants Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme managed application process, plus ongoing support to manage driver activity, should they require.

If you are an international haulier and are concerned about the risks posed to your business by clandestine entrants gaining access to your vehicle, and want to know more about joining the Clandestine Entrants Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme,

call Steve Rounds & Associates Limited on 01543 545050 or email [email protected] ?