Civil Penalty Appeal: County Court Cancels Company Penalty

This Company received a civil penalty of £5,000.00 following the discovery of 1 clandestine entrant in their vehicle. The Company lodged an appeal to the County Court on the basis that:

1. They had complied with the regulations;
2. They accepted they were not part of the accreditation scheme
3. They accepted they did have previous incidents of clandestine entry.

At the appeal hearing, the Court considered these matters alongside the Level of Penalty: Code of Practice. This document suggests that there should be a 50% reduction from the starting point of £10,000.00 where the regulations are complied with. There should then be a further 50% reduction if the Company is a part of the Civil Penalty Accreditation scheme.

The Court determined that discretion should be used where a company had complied with the regulations. This was where the driver had not, where they were not in the accreditation scheme and did have previous incidents of clandestine entry.

The Company’s appeal was allowed and no penalty was imposed.

This is extremely important where the statutory defence is no longer available (as of 13 February 2023). If you have received a civil penalty following the discovery of clandestine entrants, or have any questions about this, get in touch with one of our lawyers today.