The Home Office has cleared precast-concrete firm FP McCann of the threat of a fine after inspectors found five contractors working illegally during an immigration raid on a site in Wales.
The Northern Ireland-based company — ranked second in last year’s CN Specialists Index for concrete — faced a £225,000 fine if it was found to be responsible for employing the workers on the £600m Shotton Mill development in Deeside, North Wales.
The Home Office originally referred the firm for a civil penalty notice and arrested 13 people during the raid, which took place on 19 March. But last week, a Home Office investigation concluded that FP McCann was not liable for the five workers’ employment.
A spokesperson for the department said: “FP McCann have fully cooperated with the Home Office in our investigation into the discovery of the illegal workers, which is still ongoing.”
FP McCann and its legal representatives, Carson McDowell, said the concrete firm had informed the Home Office of “the very comprehensive anti-slavery position adopted by the company both in relation to its direct employees and also articulating that to the subcontract network”.
They have since worked with the Home Office to “get them to address the damage that has been caused” by “erroneous press coverage” of the situation, a spokesperson added.
Turkish company Enka’s UK division is the main contractor on the £600m redevelopment of Shotton Mill. It is not yet known who was was responsible for employing the five illegal workers.
The project will transform the former paper mill into a cardboard, corrugated packaging and tissue-paper manufacturing facility.
In February, the maximum civil penalty for employing illegal workers tripled to £45,000 per worker for a first offence and £60,000 per worker for repeat violations.
