Employers who are illegally hiring immigrants to pay them low wages and avoid taxes had better beware because the EU plans to make this a criminal offence punishable by high fines and prison sentences.

The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee has just given the green light to this new legislation and all MEPs are expected to endorse the new rules during the next plenary session on February 19. The rules have already been agreed upon by member states.

Currently, illegal employment is tackled differently in the 27 member states. Through this directive, sanctions will be harmonised so that irregular immigrants are deterred from "employment shopping", while abusive employers are heavily punished.

The directive is aimed at reducing one of the main factors that attract illegal immigrants - some eight million are estimated to be working illegally in the EU at the moment.

It is well known that some Maltese companies, particularly in the tourism and construction sectors, employ illegal immigrants, paying them very low wages while denying them legal conditions. Through this directive, employers could be fined, forced to pay wages in arrears at legal levels or even banned, for up to five years, from bidding for public sector contracts or receiving state aid - whether national or from the EU.

The rules will also lay down criminal law penalties against employers for repeat offences; where a large number of people in an irregular situation are employed; where the working conditions are exploitative; where the employee is a victim of human trafficking and this is known to the employer; or where the employee is a minor.

The directive says that an employer who is found guilty must refund any state aid received the previous year and pay a graduated fine, according to the number of illegal immigrants employed.

In addition, the employer must pay a sum equal to the amount of taxes or other levies he would have paid had the worker been legally employed.

The directive will also apply to non-commercial employees, such as those families who are employing illegal immigrants for home help.

However, in these cases those found guilty will not be subject to prison sentences but to financial penalties, which could go higher in cases where the workers are exploited.