Changes to Right to Work Checks
Right-to-work checks are an important part of employment law, but the ways in which they are conducted have changed in response to the pandemic.
The Current Situation
Under UK Law it is illegal to employ individuals who cannot prove they have the appropriate right-to-work documentation. Those who choose to recruit illegal workers face criminal convictions and can incur fines of up to £20’000 per employee. It is therefore crucial for employers to follow the necessary steps and to be able to show evidence that the correct steps have been taken.
What’s Next?
Since the pandemic, the government announced new ways of conducting right-to-work checks as face-to-face checks were no longer an option.
From April 6th, the status of all foreign nationals who hold either a biometric residence card, biometric residence permit, or frontier worker permit now needs to be checked online rather than manually. All that is needed is a date of birth and a share code to verify someone’s eligibility via the government’s online checking service.
From 1st October 2022, employers will be asked to use certified Identity Service Providers (IDSPs) to complete digital right-to-work checks for any British or Irish citizen holding a valid passport, as an alternative to undertaking the manual checks. Employers must submit digital images of personal documents, rather than copying original documentation.
These amendments will leave employers with a choice: return to the manual process, which is more time-consuming, or revert to digitally checking which will have cost implications for future budgets.
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