Is your construction company at risk of compliance fines?

As the owner of a construction firm, reading about the fines that have been given for non-compliance in our sector will give you nightmares. The devastatingly high fines could ruin (and have ruined) seemingly successful businesses, and learning about how illegal workers have gone under the radar could send you spiralling. It’s enough to make even the most diligent of us question whether our compliance policies are enough.

The impact of underestimating compliance could be catastrophic. Understanding your compliance score is essential.

What are the risks to your company of ignoring the latest legislation?

Ignorance of the latest government legislation won’t give you any leeway when it comes to law enforcement. The government has made it quite clear that non-compliance is a real issue for businesses in the UK.

In the first quarter of 2025, the Home Office issued 748 penalties for illegal workers, with a total value of £41.6 million. Between January and June 2025, 15 UK construction contractors were fined a total of £1,365,000 for illegal working violations.

The statistics show the reality of how seriously the UK government is taking compliance in construction, and demonstrates how important it is to stay on top of your compliance policies and practices.

The High-Stakes Game of “Corner-Cutting”

Taking a risk and cutting corners on paperwork, policy, or practice is the same as using your business assets as your gambling chips. Eventually, your luck will run out.

Scrutiny on recruitment practices has been steadily increasing over the past few years, and with the new government legislation in force, it’s more important than ever that you understand if you’re at risk of compliance fines.

P.I.E.R’s online assessment can help you understand your compliance score and what you need to do to protect your business.

Find Your Compliance Score

What leaves my company at most risk?

Every aspect of compliance is important but to make it easier for you to begin risk assessing your organisation, here are 3 aspects of compliance to focus on.

The “Triple-Fine” Era: Why a First Mistake Costs £45,000

From the 13th March 2024, fines for employing illegal workers tripled.

The penalty for a first time offence shot up from £15,000 to £45,000, and for those caught employing illegal workers repeatedly, the fine increased from £20,000 to £60,000.

Right-to-work checks must be completed on all workers, and if you have reasonable cause to believe a worker might be subject to immigration laws you must act. If you engage your workers through recruitment agencies, do you know how to access their documents and details?

The CSCS Card Illusion: Why “Valid” Doesn’t Mean “Compliant”

A valid CSCS card demonstrates that a worker has the training and qualifications to carry out a role. A valid CSCS card does not mean that the worker has the right to work in the UK.

Forging CSCS cards has become widespread and you must ensure that your business is not employing workers based on a CSCS card alone.

The 2026 Liability Cliff: Your Umbrella Company is Now Your Risk

Since the 6th April 2026, the Joint & Several Liability (JSL) legislation means that construction firms and construction recruitment agencies will be held ‘joint and severally liable’ for tax issues caused by an umbrella company. The new JSL rules help to protect workers from large, unexpected tax bills, as well as preventing ‘cowboy’ agencies undercutting those operating fairly. If an umbrella company is found to be operating fraudulently and the money cannot be recovered from the umbrella company itself, the agency or end-client will become liable.

Non-compliant umbrella companies might be saving you money in the short term, but they’re likely to cause a real problem for you in the future.

Umbrella companies must be compliant, and if you’re working with a non-compliant umbrella company, you will be liable for their intentional ‘mistakes’.

Are the regulations being actively enforced?

While we believe everyone in our sector should prioritise compliance, we know that sadly, it’s the threat of enforcement that will create real change. HMRC has been clear that there is no ‘phased approach’: the legislation is already actively enforced.

Companies are called out publicly on non-compliant practices

Compliance regulations have been heavily enforced since 2024 and government reporting has meant that it’s not just nameless rumours. There are plenty of examples of businesses that have gone under, suffered irreversible reputational damage, or faced large fines.

In the first quarter of 2025, Samuel Buga, Director of Sam Construct Ltd. in London, was given a £200,000 fine for employing illegal workers. Sam Construct then went into liquidation, with a court winding-up notice issued on 26 June 2025.

Also in 2025, Sengcai Ltd based in Stratford was fined £180,000 and in Devon, MS Roofers was given a £135,000 fine.

The 50% Surge in “Unexpected Visitors”

From January to September 2025, there were 206 immigration enforcement visits at construction sites across the UK and during these visits, 477 people were arrested. This figure is more than double the 119 raids that took place in 2024 as a whole.

With so many visits taking place, and no discrimination between the size of the sites visited, you can’t afford to be complacent because you think you’ll go under the radar.

What can I do right now to avoid fines?

If you already feel confident that your business is compliant, the best way to avoid fines is to stay on top of the new legislation and to ask for confirmation of compliance from every part of your supply chain. If there’s any doubt in your mind that you may face a fine in the future, it’s time to check your compliance score.

A Forward-Looking Strategy for Survival

Even if you’re confident that a surprise visit by enforcement officers could be met with clear information relating to every aspect of your compliance policy, it’s worth protecting the future of your business.

P.I.E.R’s short online assessment can help you assess and evaluate compliance within your supply chain.

Find Your Compliance Score

What is your compliance score?

Once you’ve completed the online assessment, your compliance score will help you map out your next steps. At P.I.E.R we firmly believe that no business should suffer because they don’t know what they don’t know. We make it easy for you to find out exactly what the new compliance legislation means for you, and how you can safeguard your business from fines, reputational damage, and unwanted press.

How can you measure your own compliance?

We’ve developed our recruitment compliance assessment to give you a clear idea of your current compliance score. We offer our clients ongoing support with compliance, and we would always rather help a business become compliant than allow them to work with non-compliant agencies and be open to risk. It’s not an entirely selfless move – non-compliant companies undercut fair prices, offer below-par wages to workers and give our industry a bad name.

We believe the construction industry should hold itself to higher standards and we lead by example. Our compliance assessment is just one way we offer our clients an exceptional service at every stage of their project.

Use our online assessment to get an immediate compliance score

Whether you’re confident about compliance, a little unsure, or worried that there’s things you don’t know, we’d encourage you to take 5 minutes to complete our online assessment. At the very least it will help boost your confidence, and at most, it will help you understand what you need to do to protect your business from unwanted fines.

Take the construction compliance assessment today and find out how you can protect your business from unnecessary fines.

Find Your Compliance Score

Is your construction company at risk of compliance fines?