Right To Work Checks

Who needs a UK
Right To Work Check?

Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, employers are legally obligated to verify the immigration status of all employees before they start work.

Under the prevention of illegal working legislation, it is unlawful for an employer to hire someone if they do not have the Right to Work in the UK or if they are breaching the terms of their stay by continuing to work in the UK without an eVisa.

These right to work checks help ensure companies do not unlawfully employ individuals who do not have permission to work in the country and include verifying whether the person is a permanent national, such as a British or Irish citizen with a permanent National Insurance number issued by the government, or in the case of non-British or non-Irish citizens, have a  time-limited right to work, evidenced with an eVisa through an online check using the Home Office’s digital right to work service.

All candidates for employment require a Right To Work check before their first day of employment and include:

  • Permanent employees
  • Temporary employees
  • Seasonal workers
  • Part-time Employees
  • Casual workers
  • Zero-Hours contract workers
  •  Contractors and & freelancers
  • In some cases volunteers and even unpaid interns.

 

Questions on Right To Work Checks?

To request prices for RTW checks or to book a demo of our intuitive screening portal please call us on 0800 999 7858 or get in touch below.

Right To Work penalties.

The penalties for employing someone who does not have the right to work increased in February 2024 and and civil fines for non-compliance can be up to £45,000 per illegal worker for first time offence and up to £60,000 per illegal worker for repeat offence. On top of fines, employers can face reputational damage, loss of sponsor licence, and even criminal prosecution for repeated breaches.

Establishing a statutory excuse can safeguard your company from civil fines if an illegal worker is found on your payroll.

How to establish Statutory Excuse in order to stay compliant and avoid fines.

“Statutory Excuse” is an employer’s defence against a civil penalty. In order to establish a statutory excuse a right to work check must have been undertaken using one of the following methods.

For British & Irish citizens

A digital Right To Work check

A digital check using Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) via a certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP).

Let us take care of this for you with automated document verification and a comprehensive audit trail

Request right to work checks for your candidates

Manual Right To Work check

A manual check of the candidates documents where you must ensure you obtain, verify, and securely copy original documents and compare the documents with the candidates likeness in person. The onus here is heavily on you the employer to ensure compliance and maintain your own audit trail and documentation.

For foreign nationals

  • An online right to work check through the Home Office’s digital right to work service for non-British/Irish nationals.

Get Right To Work checks for your workforce or candidates.

With our background screening software it’s quick and easy to prepare candidates for screening, select from the variety of checks available, and monitor each candidate’s screening progress as we complete it.

To learn more about how our screening services can help your organisation, or to book a demo, please get in touch.

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