This is an overview of the process that musty be followed in order to illustrate that a candidate’s right to work in the UK has been checked.
Click here for the government’s right to work checklist, it is broken down into 3 stages: Obtain, Check, Copy.
This includes:
- A list of documents which can be used to demonstrate a candidate’s right to work
- What needs to be checked on the document itself
- What information we need to keep a copy of for our records
Due to the current pandemic and documents not being check physically in person, the government has provided guidance on how a document can be checked remotely:
Temporary changes to right to work checks due to COVID-19 pandemic
Temporary changes were made to the right to work check requirements due to the COVID-19 outbreak to make the process easier for employers.
Since 30 March 2020, employers can complete a right to work check via a video call.
The employer must:
- Ask the individual to submit a scanned copy or a photo of their original documents by email or using a mobile app.
- Arrange a video call with the individual and ask them to hold up their original documents to the camera so that they can be checked against the digital copy they have been sent.
- Record the date they conduct the check and note “Adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19” on a copy of the documents.
- If the individual has a Biometric Residence Permit, Biometric Residence Card or status under the EU Settlement Scheme, the employer can use the online right to work checking service during a video call, but the individual must give the employer permission to view their details.
If the individual cannot provide the required documents, the employer should contact the Home Office’s Employer Checking Service.
If the individual has the right to work, the employer will receive a “positive verification notice”.
This provides a statutory excuse for six months from the date of the notice.
Employers then have eight weeks from when the COVID-19 measures end to carry out retrospective right to work checks, in the usual way, on employees who commenced employment or required a follow-up check while these temporary measures were in place.
On the copy of any documents reviewed as part of the retrospective check, the employer should note:
“The individual’s contract commenced on [insert date]. The prescribed right to work check was undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19”.
Copies of both checks should then be held on file.
These temporary measures do not apply to right to work checks conducted before 30 March 2020.
Right to Work Checker
Click here for a useful tool to check an individual is entitled to work in the UK
NOTE this online check does not supersede the above process.
Checking EU Citizens
Please note that despite Brexit on 31/12/20, as of the time of writing, there are no changes to an EU citizen’s right to work in the UK until 30th June 2021.
Therefore a candidate is NOT required to provide proof of their status under the EU settlement Scheme prior to this date.
“Employers have a duty not to discriminate against EU, EEA or Swiss citizens. You cannot require them to show you their status under the EU Settlement Scheme until after 30 June 2021.”
Click here to go to Government Guidance page on this matter.