Section 1: Employment agencies: mode of trial and penalties for certain offences
Section 1 amends the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 1981 to provide for offences under employment agency legislation to be triable either in a Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court. At present, the maximum fine that can be awarded by a Magistrates’ Court can be no greater than level five on the standard scale (currently £5,000). Agencies that act unlawfully can make much more than this amount. Allowing more serious cases to be tried in the Crown Court will provide for the potential for unlimited fines to be awarded against such agencies.