The long-awaited joint appeals in Jen and Jamie Limited v SSHD and Johal v SSHD were recently heard by the Court of Appeal on 13 and 14 October 2026. The two-day appeal hearing can be accessed here.

In October 2024, Brenda was instructed to represent Jen and Jamie Limited in its Civil Penalty Notice (“CPN”) appeal before the County Court. The Appellant faced a total penalty of £80,000 for the alleged employment of two individuals whose visas restricted the type of work they could undertake, outside of their posts with their sponsor.

In one of the few reported CPN appeals, HHJ Robinson BEM dismissed the appeal on all grounds, despite finding the Appellant’s witnesses credible and accepting that the case related to a short period of unpaid training. The Judge found that he did not have the discretion to consider matters outside the SSHD’s Code of Practice when assessing the level of penalty under section 17(2)(b) of the 2006 Act. The decision in Jen and Jamie Limited v SSHD [2025] EWCC 41 can be found here.

Jen and Jamie secured permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal in December 2025. Brenda continued representing the Appellant throughout the proceedings. Relying on her experience in carriers’ liability cases, Brenda assisted the Appellant in presenting arguments regarding relevant authorities in this analogous civil penalty regime. The Appellant submitted that, in line with the Court of Appeal decisions in International Transport Roth and Loane Transport, the mirrored wording of the “Illegal working” regime also provides for significant judicial discretion on appeal, and that Judges were entitled to consider matters outside of the Code of Practice.

In the course of the appeal, the Appellant also put forward arguments recently set out by HHJ Saunders in Hair EQ Limited v SSHD, namely that:

a) in certain circumstances, a Judge may cancel a CPN, even if liability is found;
b) Judges have the discretion to significantly reduce the penalty amount in view of the particular facts of the case, beyond the limits suggested in the SSHD’s Code of Practice.

The Court of Appeal reserved its judgment.

Brenda was led by Emma Harris of Goldsmith Chambers, both instructed by Adrian Green of Stachiw Bashir Green. Brenda and Emma appeared alongside Zainul Jafferji and Sheraaz Hingora of Clarendon Park Chambers, for the Appellant in the linked appeal of Johal v SSHD.