In the current scenario of a globalised workforce, the nature of hiring and employment is becoming more complex than ever. In such a situation, businesses that secure a UK sponsor licence must adhere to stringent legal standards, particularly regarding their employees’ right to work checks. Compliance with the UKVI rules not only helps businesses maintain the validity of their UK sponsor licence but also enhances the reputation of their organisation.
Failing to fulfil sponsorship duties and other legal obligations, including right to work checks, may lead to serious legal repercussions, such as the sponsor licence revocation or civil penalties. Thus, it is crucial for sponsors to follow the UKVI rules and regulations associated with the sponsor licence and all applicable laws, including the right-to-work checks requirement.
What are Right to Work Checks?
Right to work checks are a process that employers in the UK must conduct to verify that all their employees have the legal rights to work in the country. In other words, it involves background screening to ensure employees have the legal rights to work in the UK before starting employment. This process involves checking and retaining the relevant documents proving the employee’s work eligibility.
The UK Home Office sets out Right to Work checks under the immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (amended by the Immigration Act 2016). It is important to note that the UKVI makes necessary and timely changes to these guidelines.
By conducting right to work checks properly, employers can ensure that the employees they hire are permitted to work in the UK lawfully. On the other hand, if an employer fails to conduct the right to work checks correctly and the Home Office discover illegal employment, the employer may face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
Additionally, if UKVI finds that the employer knowingly appoints individuals who do not have the right to work in the UK, the Home Office officials may impose criminal sanctions upon the employer.
When to Conduct Right to Work Checks?
Employers must conduct right to work checks before employees start working with them. This process can be conducted at the interview stage or before the hired individual’s first day at work. The right-to-work checks process involves verifying the identity of the employees, their nationality, the validity of their visas, and so forth to ensure that the employees have the permit to work in the specific role offered in the UK.
The pre-employment check is crucial for avoiding penalties associated with illegal employment. In addition, follow-up checks are necessary for individuals, such as students, who have time-limited permission to work in the UK. In such cases, follow-up checks are required to ensure their continued eligibility before their permission expires.
Conversely, it is also recommended to conduct right to work checks when there is a change in the employee’s circumstances, including changes in the visa status. Implementing timely checks as part of the routine HR process helps not only maintain compliance with UKVI rules and regulations but also safeguard the business from potential fines and reputational damage.
Why Right to Work Checks are Important?
As mentioned above, right to work checks are crucial for employers to comply with UKVI rules and regulations and to safeguard the business from civil penalties and criminal charges. In addition, timely assessment of the employment eligibility for working in the UK may improve the integrity of the labour market and uphold the reputation of the organisation, which in turn fosters trust with clients, partners and the workforce. Above all, thorough right to work checks promote a fair and equitable working environment by ensuring all employees undergo the same verification procedure, supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives within the organisation.
Documents Required for Right to Work Checks
The various acceptable documents for right to work checks can be found here under Annex A.
Methods of Right to Work Checks
An organisation can use several methods to conduct right to work checks on an employee. It is necessary to understand and select the appropriate method based on the situation to maintain compliance. The methods of right to work checks include:
Manual Right to Work Checks
Verification is conducted in person through manual right-to-work checks. It involves a face-to-face meeting with the candidate. This method involves obtaining and checking the employees’ original documents in person. The official guidelines set by the UKVI clearly instruct employers on what they need to do in a manual right to work checks and the documents they need to request from the candidate. For this method, the employer needs to follow the simple steps.
Step 1:
During the first step of the manual right to work checks, the employer meets the candidate in person and obtains the relevant documents from the candidate, which may include a passport, birth certificate, adoption certificate, certificate of naturalisation in the UK, and so forth.
Step 2:
In this step, the employer needs to check the validity of the documents provided by the employee.
Step 3:
In the last step, the employer needs to make a clear copy of all the documents provided by the employee in a format that cannot be altered by any means and save the copy securely, either electronically or as a hardcopy. They must also retain a secure record of the date on which the check was made.
Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT)
For Right to work checks, employers also have the option to rely on technology known as Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT). It is a third-party service that supports verifying an individual’s eligibility to work in the UK on behalf of an organisation’s hiring team. This method of Right to work checks applies to British and Irish nationalities. The process involves verifying the candidate’s identity and ensuring that the individual is eligible to work in the country. This method includes checking documents that prove an individual’s identity, such as passport or national ID card. These documents help employers verify the individual’s identity and determine the person’s immigration status.
The major advantage of the IDVT process is that it helps an organisation’s hiring team reduce the risk of employing illegal workers and safeguard the business from potential legal consequences. Employers can seek assistance from a certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP) to conduct this process.
An IDSP, or Identity Service Provider, is a certified third-party digital service provider, capable of conducting digital verification of an individual’s documentation to determine their eligibility to work in the UK. According to the UKVI guidance on right to work checks, it is the employer’s responsibility to obtain the IDVT check from the IDSP.
Home Office Online Right to Work Checks
In certain cases, employers can utilise the online right to work checks service provided by the Home Office. The online right to work checks are mainly intended for individuals with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), Biometric Residence Card (BRC) (now replaced with e-visas), Pre-settled or settled status under EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme), or Frontier Worker Permit (FWP).
Compared with other methods, online right-to-work checks are more secure as they allow employers to verify documents directly through the home office. However, the employee must provide their share code to their employer to update their immigration status online.
From 6 April 2022, biometric card holders are required to produce evidence of their eligibility to work in the UK only through the Home Office Online service. In these cases, organisations cannot accept the physical cards for right-to-work purposes, even if they have later expiry dates. Currently, physical cards have been removed from the list of acceptable documents for right to work checks.
To carry out an online right to work check, the employer needs the consent of the proposed employee. For this process, the employer must know the candidate’s date of birth and right to work share code (A share code is a unique digital code generated by the UK government that helps individuals prove their legal eligibility to work in the UK to their employers). Employers can obtain the details of the employees from the UK government website by using the share code provided by the employee.
Employer Checking Service (ECS)
The employers can use the Employer Checking Service (ECS) to verify an employee’s or potential employee’s immigration status if they cannot produce the correct documents or online immigration status. Businesses can use this service to establish a statutory excuse. Specific scenarios where business can seek the assistance of the Home Office’s ECS include:
- Being presented with a document (non-digital CoA or an acknowledgement letter or email) confirming receipt of an application to the EUSS on or before 30 June 2021.
- Being presented with a non-digital CoA confirming receipt of an application to the EUSS on or after 1 July 2021.
- Being presented with a valid Application Registration Card stating that the holder is permitted to undertake the work in question.
- If the organisation has not been provided with any acceptable documents and cannot carry out a check using the online service.
- Being presented with information indicating that the employee/prospective employee has an outstanding application for permission to stay in the UK with the Home Office, which was made before their previous permission expired, or has an appeal or administrative review pending, and therefore cannot provide evidence of their right to work.
- Being presented with information indicating they are a long-term resident of the UK who arrived in the UK before 1988.
In the above circumstances, the business can establish a statutory excuse only if the Home Office issues a Positive Verification Notice (PVN), which confirms that the individual can carry out the type of work in question in the UK.
Right to Work Checks for Students and Supplementary Employment
For Student Visa Holders
Not everyone on a student visa has the right to work in the UK. However, some students may take up limited employment if it is included in the conditions of their study permit. In other words, an individual granted permission to stay in the UK as a student and also permitted to work may have an endorsement in their visa stating they are allowed to work in the country for a limited number of hours during term time, such as 10 or 20 hours a week. Additionally, since student visa holders have an eVisa or BRP, this information is readily available on the UKVI website. Thus, employers can easily verify it through the Home Office’s online service.
Employers must obtain and maintain a copy of the details regarding the students’ academic terms and vacation times during their academic study period in the UK. The sponsoring education provider should provide these dates to the employer, either directly or indirectly, to ensure the information is sufficient.
If there is a significant change in the students’ circumstances, such as the cancellation of student immigration permission, the organisation where they were working must be notified. This is because, in such cases, the Home Office may curtail the student’s permission to work in the country. The curtailment can take immediate effect or commence 60 calendar days when the student is informed of the curtailment.
Supplementary Employment
Skilled UK workers can undertake supplementary employment if the occupation is listed in Tables 1, 2 or 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations. Some workers who came to the UK on specific immigration routes can undertake supplementary employment that is listed in the Appendix Immigration Salary List or is in the same profession and position as mentioned in the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). The immigration routes include:
- The Intra-Company routes in place before 11 April 2022
- Senior or Specialist Worker (but only if they qualify under a transitional arrangement)
- T2 Minister of Religion
- International Sportsperson
- Creative Worker
- Government Authorised Exchange
- International Agreement (but only if the worker has been granted as an employee of an overseas government or international organisation)
- Religious Worker
There are certain conditions that the organisation need to follow if they are offering sponsored employment to an eligible sponsored worker. It includes:
- The working hours must not exceed 20 hours per week.
- Work must take place outside the contracted hours for their sponsored employment.
To obtain the statutory excuse against a civil penalty, the organisation must ensure that the sponsored worker has the right-to-work in the UK and is permitted to carry out the work in question. When conducting the right to work checks of the candidates, the organisation needs to ensure that supplementary employment meets the requirements mentioned above. For instance, the organisation can ask the sponsored workers to produce evidence to prove:
- They are currently working for their sponsors.
- The job description and the occupation code of their sponsored employment
- Their contractual working hours
If, during the course of employment, the organisation discovers that their supplementary worker is working in breach and they continue their employment, the business no longer has a statutory excuse. If they find that their supplement worker is working in breach, the business needs to take necessary actions, including contacting the Home Office and taking steps to terminate the employee from the organisation.
When to Conduct Follow-Up Checks?
Follow-up checks are not required for every worker. Sponsors must conduct a follow-up right to work checks for sponsored workers with time-limited status. For instance, individuals without Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) fall into this category. Employers need to conduct follow-up right to work checks before the expiry of the employer’s visa to retain their statutory excuse and avoid civil penalties. Other scenarios where employers need to conduct follow-up right to work checks, include:
- The employer obtains PVN from ECS.
- Existing employees apply to extend their leave in the UK and await the Home Office’s decision. In this circumstance, the statutory excuse against a civil penalty lasts for 28 days from the expiry date of the employee’s permission.
Overall, employers need to be vigilant about the expiry date of the employee’s visa to avoid legal consequences.
Latest Updates on Right to Work Checks
The Home Office updated the right to work checks guidance on 12 February 2025. According to the latest guidelines, the significant changes include:
- Decommissioning biometric cards
Individuals using biometric cards, including BRP or BRC or other legacy paper documents, should create a UKVI account to access their eVisa and prove their eligibility to work in the country.
A clipped British or Irish passport is a cancelled document and thus is not considered an acceptable document for proving the right to work in the country. Additionally, a short or long birth certificate is considered an acceptable document when accompanied by official evidence of name and national insurance number issued by the UK government to prove eligibility to work in the country.
The opening of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme on 4 February 2025 confirms employment eligibility for Ukraine nationals.
- Removal of COVID-19 Section
The section referring to COVID-19 temporary adjusted checks has been removed from the guidelines.
Wrapping Up
Ensuring legal compliance with timely right-to-work check documentation for employees is a crucial responsibility of employers. With a thorough understanding of the required documents, employers can safeguard their business from legal penalties or consequences and maintain their workforce lawfully. Implementing the latest systems for verifying and storing employee documentation, staying up-to-date with changes in employment law, and conducting follow-up checks are key strategies for maintaining compliance with right to work checks. At City Legal Solicitors, we help employers become aware of the necessary documents for conducting proper right to work checks and timely follow-up checks.
For more details, contact us today @ 020 8175 4000 or email us at enquiries@citylegalsolicitors.co.uk for more information.
