UNITED KINGDOM: Right to Work Checks – Reminder of 1 October Changes

September 28, 2022


In line with the Covid-19 Right to Work concessions, which afforded employers the ability to conduct remote checks during the pandemic and ends on 30 September, UK employers face changes to the Right to Work check process. Done correctly, a Right to Work check provides employers with a ‘statutory excuse’, which may limit their potential liability if found to hire someone without the necessary legal permission to work.

From 1 October 2022, employers have three ways in which they can verify a prospective employee’s Right to Work:

1. Manual

Employers need to check the original documents are genuine and that the person presenting them in-person is the rightful holder of the documentation. A copy must be taken and kept securely for the duration of the worker’s employment and for a further two years after their employment ceases. It is best practice for employers to sign and date each copy with a certification that it is a true copy of the original document.

2. Digital Identity Service Provider (IDSP) (applicable for British and Irish nationals only)

Employers can use the services of certified IDSP’s to check the right to work of British and Irish nationals. The documents that will be assessed by the IDSPs are valid British passports, Irish passports and Irish passport cards. Prospective employees will use the ID Verification Technology (IDVT) deployed by the IDSP to upload a copy of their documentation and take a selfie photo. The IDVT will then provide a report to declare if documentation is genuine. The report in question must contain all prescribed information relating to the individual being assessed, including a clear, uneditable image of the identity document being checked.

After receiving the report, the employer can conduct an in-person or remote (i.e. video link) right to work check with the individual to ensure the individual and report match. A note of caution: the employer is required to carry out their own due diligence to satisfy themselves to a reasonable belief that their chosen IDSP has completed the check correctly in the prescribed manner, and use of a certified IDSP is not sufficient alone to discharge this obligation. A copy of the report must be kept securely for the duration of the worker’s employment and for a further two years after their employment ceases.

3. Home Office online checks

There are two forms of online checks:

    1. Job applicants who hold an eVisa, a Biometric Residence Permit or Frontier Work Permit: an employer cannot solely rely upon these documents as proof of a right to work – for such individuals, they will need to use the Home Office website to generate a share-code (valid for 90 days) and provide this to their employer. Employers can then visit the Home Office online right to work site in order to enter the share-code and applicant’s date of birth.

      The online Right to Work report will be a downloadable PDF. Employers must check that the photo in the online Right to Work report matches the person they are hiring. A copy of the online report must be kept securely for the duration of the worker’s employment and for a further two years after their employment ceases; and

    2. If an individual has an outstanding Home Office application, appeal or administrative review in progress, including where the individual has applied under the EU Settlement Scheme or has been issued with a valid Application Residence Card following an asylum application, employers with the individual’s permission can use the Employer Checking Service to check their right to work status.

      This service must also be used for individuals presenting other information indicating long-term residency having arrived in the UK prior to 1988. A copy of the results and evidence relied upon in each case must be kept securely for the duration of the worker’s employment and for a further two years after their employment ceases;

Organisations and individuals impacted by this development are encouraged to contact a Newland Chase immigration specialist for case-specific advice.

For general advice and information on immigration and business travel to the UK, please contact us.