Right to Work Checks All employers in the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working. You do this by conducting simple right to work checks before you employ someone, to make sure the individual is not disqualified from carrying out the work in question by reason of their immigration status. An ID check is to prove the candidate’s identity is genuine, belongs to a real person, and they are rightfully using that identity. A candidate’s identity and address must be verified to ensure they are not fraudulently seeking employment. Guidance on acceptable documents that you as a hiring manager need to obtain, check and copy can be found on the UK Governments website. Guidance on how to prove and verify someone’s identity can also be found on the UK Government website. You should not discriminate when conducting right to work checks. You should: Be consistent in how you conduct right to work checks on all prospective employees, including British citizens. Ensure job selections are made on the basis of suitability for the post. Ensure that no prospective job applicants are discouraged or excluded, either directly or indirectly, because of known or perceived protected characteristics. Otherwise, you may be acting in a discriminatory manner, and it could be used as evidence against you in proceedings under the Equality Act 2010. The Code of practice for employers: Avoiding unlawful discrimination while preventing illegal working provides practical guidance on how to avoid unlawful discrimination when employing individuals and conducting right to work checks. It is recommended that you refer to this code and the Code of practice on preventing illegal working: Civil penalty scheme for employers when conducting right to work checks. The three step process Checking a candidate’s documents to determine if they have the right to carry out the type of work you are offering comprises three key steps: Check the validity of the documents in the presence of the holder Make and retain a clear copy and make a record of the date of the check Obtain the candidate’s original documents as specified further down this page Step 1 – Obtain You must obtain original documents from with List A or List B of acceptable documents. Step 2 – Check You must check that the documents are genuine and that the person presenting them is the candidate, the rightful holder and allowed to do the type of work you are offering. You must check that: The reasons for any difference in names across documents (e.g. original marriage certificate, divorce decree absolute, deed poll). These supporting documents must also be photocopied and retained. Photographs and dates of birth are consistent across documents and with the person’s appearance in order to detect impersonation. Expiry dates for permission to work in the UK have not passed. Any work restrictions to determine if they are allowed to do the type of work on offer (for students who have limited permission to work during term-times, you must also obtain, copy and retain details of their academic term and vacation times covering the duration of their period of study in the UK for which they will be employed). The documents are genuine, have not been tampered with and belong to the holder. Step 3 – Copy You must make a clear copy of each document in a format which cannot be altered and return the copy to the recruitment department with the offer paperwork. You must also retain a secure copy of the date on which you made the check You must copy and retain: Passports: any page with the document expiry date, the holder’s nationality, date of birth, leave expiry date, biometric details, photograph and any page containing information indication the holder has an entitlement to enter and remain in the UK (visa or entry stamp) and undertake the work in question (the front cover no longer has to be copied) All other documents: The document in full, including both sides of a Biometric Residence Permit, Application Registration Care (biometric format). Checks by Country UK, Isle of Man, Channel Islands and Republic of Ireland Certificates of Registration or Naturalisation as a British Citizen – provided it is produced with an official document giving the person’s permanent national insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer. This certificate will be issued to someone who has been naturalised as a British citizen. They will then be able to apply for a UK passport. A current UK or Republic of Ireland passport is required, the passport can be an old-style passport which no longer permits travel, it will however, demonstrate a right to work. You should ensure that the document photograph is consistent with the physically appearance of your employee or prospective employee. Request further evidence of status if you are unsure. British citizens may also provide their full UK birth or adoption certificate which includes the name(s) of at least one of their parents or adoptive parents, together with an official document giving their permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer. EU, EEA or Swiss National Candidates who Lived in the UK Before 31st December 2020 EU/EEA nationals will be required to demonstrate their right to work through evidence of their immigration status, rather than their nationality. EU citizens can evidence their right to work using their digital status obtained from the Home Office. This can be undertaken by using the Home Office online right to work checking service and will evidence if they have ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status. Both statuses are eligible to work in the UK. The checking of documents also applies to internal candidates/ employees. You must see the original documentation or have viewed them on the online UKVI website, upload copies of the successful candidate’s documentation to their JobTrain record. EU Candidates who were NOT Living in the UK on 31st December 2020 From 1st January 2021 free movement with the European Union (EU) ended and any workers coming to the UK to work needs to apply through the Skilled Worker or Health & Care Visa route and need sponsorship or provide evidence of having a visa through another route. All Other Overseas Candidates The same criteria as mentioned above applies and they need to apply through the Skilled Worker or Health & Care Visa route and need sponsorship or provide evidence of having a visa through another route. Please note: The Resident Labour Market Test is no longer required for the skilled workers route. Non-UK, Irish or British Crown Dependency (Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man) candidates also need to provide one of the following to prove their entitlement to work: A Home Office share code from gov.uk, indicating that the person named is allowed stay in the UK and they are allowed to do the work in question. Where a Home Office share code is provided by the candidate as evidence for Right to Work, this needs to be verified by the recruitment department (UK and Republic of Ireland candidates do not have share codes) Visa with a valid expiry date. Their EU settlement status.
