Need advice... considering employing someone not 100% legally allowed to work in UK (I think).....

[totallyanonymous]

Sorry, name changed for obvious reasons, wondering if anyone can shed light. Am considering employing someone who isn't (I think) entitled to work in the UK yet... the person in question is brazilian, but with spanish citizenship (through ancestry) and awaiting her passport, which is currently stuck in the quagmire of spanish bureaucracy. Her paperwork is all clear re: spanish passport, she is not awaiting any confirmation of anything, just the actual issuing of the booklet itself. Meanwhile, she is in the UK legally, having travelled from Spain with her spanish id card. Would love to employ her on cash in hand basis until her paperwork is sorted out, for childcare, then make her official when we can. Apart from the obvious problem of paying cash in hand, we have employed a nanny previously, paid her tax and NI etc, and so I'm worried that the fact that we are no longer doing so will draw attention to us in some way. Am I being paranoid? Anyone have any idea of penalties if she or we are found out? Am I worrying for nothing? Sorry this is so long, any feed back would be great, thanks so much.....

Message withdrawn

you're right, i have been thinking about how she worked here previously (though her last chunk of employment was in spain). i have no idea if brazilians are allowed a certain amount of working time in the uk, like australians or whatever, before they have to go. did try to find out on various govt websites, but i wasn't looking in the right places i don't think.....

thanks everyone for your help and good night!

Well definitely keep in touch with her and as soon as she has the passport, you should be able to hire her. I know it seems like a load of red tape but you really have to be so careful. You also need to keep photocopies of the passport cover, details page and any visa pages to form a defence for whoever you employ, and legally you have to do this for UK citizens, not just non-UK candidates.

Juat to say that for Spaniards (as for anyone else within the EU with ID cards) an ID card is as equally valid as a passport. A Spaniard doesn't need a passport unless he/she wants to travel outside of Europe. My dp is Spanish and travels to Spain and back here with his ID card alone. Immigration officials don't ask for anything else. His ID card is also an accepted form of ID here, for example in banks, etc.
As your potential employee has a Spanish ID card (issued by the Spanish state as she has Spanish citizenship) she is perfectly entitled to work in this country. She effectively has dual citizenship - Spanish and Brazilian. You'd be employing her in the same way as if you were hiring anyone else within the EU.