Business Immigration: Updated Right to Work Checks
It is a legal requirement to check all employee passports and right to work in the UK and to keep these updated.
Failure to comply with right to work checks can result in commercial and reputational damage to your company and you could potentially be hit with an immigration fine of up to £20,000 per illegal worker.
Why should we carry out Right to Work checks?
Even if your employment contracts require the employee to warrant that they have the right to work in the UK, as the employer you are still required to conduct these checks yourself. Further to this, if the employer knows, or ought to know, that the individual does not have permission to work, they can also face criminal sanctions. The Home Office could also shut down your business for 48hrs for each repeated failure.
If your business has a sponsor licence, this may also be suspended or revoked if a civil penalty is issued. Having a sponsorship licence revoked will result in all employees who are sponsored by you to be terminated.
By conducting right to work checks which comply with Home Office guidance, your business will obtain a statutory excuse to prevent the above sanctions being implemented.
When should we carry out Right to Work checks?
Checks should be completed before the employees first day of employment and repeat checks for existing employees should be carried out near expiry of the relevant document (we recommend implementing a notification of expiry 6, 3 and 1 months before the date of expiry).
How do we carry out Right to Work checks?
As of 1st October 2022, employers should:
✔️ Conduct in-person ‘manual’ checks of original documents;
✔️ Use the Home Office Online Checking service; or
✔️ Use an Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT) identity check.
Any right to work checks that were completed under the previous guidelines (between 30th March 2020 and 30th September 2022 will not need to be completed again.
Right to work checks are free to do unless you choose to use the new IDVT route.
As the world is transitioning back to office working and hybrid working, the Home Office has now introduced more flexible ways in which employees can conduct right to work checks.
Manual Check
Meet the individual in person;
Check the original documents in person with the individual present; and
Make and retain copies of original documents, record the date the check was completed.
Acceptable documents are set out in List A and List B on the Home Office website and include documents such as Passport, Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), Biometric Residence Card (BRC), Immigration Status Document, Certificate of Naturalisation etc.
Home Office Online Service
The online checking service is simple to use:
the migrant employee can log into their UK and Visa Immigration account and provide the employer with a share code;
the employer will go to the right to work check page on the government website and enter the code and employees date of birth;
the employee will confirm that they have shared the code with the employer and then the employer will have access to their proof of right to work;
employers should check that the photo of the employee online matches the individual in question; and
the employer should take a screenshot or print screen the employees profile and retain a copy of the right to work on the employee’s personnel file.
The On line checking service is free to use, and the statutory excuse is satisfied under this method as all information is provided instantly directly from the Home Office database.
Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT)
IDVT has been introduced as part of the Home Office’s plan to digitalise the UK Visa and Immigration services. Employers can use IDVT by engaging the services of a third party – Identity Service Provider (IDSP). The IDSP will conduct a digital check for British and Irish Citizens who hold valid passports.
Although you are outsourcing the right to work check of the documents validity, you will still have to manually check the identity of the individual on the passport is the individual you are hiring. You will also have to get the permission of the employee before undergoing a right to work check through an IDSP. You cannot force an employee to have their right to work checks done this way.
The steps for engaging an IDSP are:
send IDSP the identification document;
IDSP will carry out a digital check as per Home Office guidelines;
IDSP will then provide you with a report confirming the validity of the passport and image of the individual;
the employer will still be required to conduct an in person check to verify the photograph;
the employer should retain the report and record the date the check was conducted.
A list of certified IDSP’s can be found here.
What documents should we keep and for how long?
All documentation obtained from the employee should be retained for the duration of their employment and for two years after their employment has terminated. We advise keeping a spreadsheet containing the following information of each employee:
✔️ Full Name of employee;
✔️ Start date of employment;
✔️ Nationality;
✔️ Documents being checked;
✔️ Date the original documentation was checked;
✔️ Date you met them face-to-face and checked their identification document in person;
✔️ Date the individual’s right to work or passport expires;
✔️ Date of termination; and
✔️ Date document records can be deleted.
Frequently Asked Immigration Questions
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Under Home Office guidelines the passport only needs to be valid if IDVT checks are being done. If the passport is being checked manually then it does not need to be valid, but you must be sure the individual is the same person in the passport. You are under no obligation to monitor the employees’ passports if they are a British citizen or have Indefinite Leave to Remain following the initial right to work check.
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As part of the Home Office’s plan to digitalise immigration services, all BRPs or endorsed passports will show as valid until 31st December 2024. From 1 January 2025, all visa documentation will be online. Just because the individual’s BRP/endorsed passport shows it is expiring on 31st December 2024, does not mean that their visa or right to work in the UK expires then too. The Home Office Online Checking Service or their Home Office Decision Letter will show the correct visa expiration date.
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No – you will not obtain a statutory excuse if anyone other the employer views the employee’s profile.
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No – the conditions of work under a student visa allow them to work no more than 20 hours during term time and full-time during vacation. Students should not be working full-time permanent vacancies during their vacations or after the completion of their course.
How can we support your business?
We understand that right to work checks can be tricky and you may need help navigating your way around the different visa’s that employees present to you, the different right to work check processes and conducting these checks. We are on hand to assist with the entire process or bit by bit, as and when support is needed.
For more information on right to work checks, hiring migrant workers, procuring a sponsorship licence or any other immigration services or assistance we offer, visit our business immigration page or schedule a discovery call and we would be happy to support you!
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