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Can I challenge or appeal a civil penalty?

You can challenge a civil penalty notice on the basis that:

  • you are not liable to pay the penalty e.g. you are not the employer of the illegal worker
  • you have the statutory excuse, and/or
  • the level of penalty is too high e.g. you have mitigating evidence which means that the amount of the fine should be reduced.

If your challenge is unsuccessful, you can then go on to raise an appeal through the courts.

Our team has helped to successfully challenge numerous civil penalty notices, please get in touch to find out how we can help you.

Read more about this and other questions in our

Right to work checks and civil penalties section.

Disclaimer

Given the fast pace of change, we would stress that this information is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.

As a hub, we have included references to articles and explainers from third parties. We have no control over and are not responsible for the content, use by you or availability of those third party websites, for any products or services you buy through those sites or for the treatment of any personal information you provide to the third party.

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