What this means:
- Right to work checks can be carried out over video calls
- You can accept scanned documents or documents emailed or shared through mobile applications rather than the originals
You must continue to check the prescribed documents or use the online Home Office Employer Checking Service.
In order to use the Employer Checking Service online you will need to know the employee’s date of birth and right to work share code. To get the right to work share code, the employee has to complete an online form. They will receive a code which they will pass to the employer. Using this code and the employee’s date of birth the employer will get confirmation of what type of work the employee is permitted to do and whether there is a time limit on the right to work.
You have to check the right to work of all new employees of the business. If the prospective employee is a British citizen, you should retain a copy of their passport on file with a note of the name of the person who carried out the ID check and the date.
For all EU nationals joining your business after 30 June 2021 you should carry out the right to work check. For EU nationals employed before 30 June 2021 you should keep a copy of their EU passport and ID document, with the name of the person responsible for the ID check and the date it was carried out. There is no requirement to carry out the right to work checks retrospectively for the EU nationals who started employment before 30 June 2021. However, it is advisable to check with them that they have registered with the EU settlement scheme.
If you have not retained the ID documents of your British employees or EU nationals who started the work before 30 June 2021, you should rectify this as soon as possible.
Carrying out the right to work checks correctly will protect the employer from any potential civil penalties if accidentally any of the workers are employed without the right to work. Potential penalties can be as high as £20,000 per employee and it is certainly worth making sure that you have a defence in case anything went wrong.
Companies holding a sponsor licence may be penalised for not following the correct procedure – this can result in downgrading the licence or repeated compliance visits and even revocation of the licence.
The procedures are not complicated and we strongly recommend getting in touch if you have any uncertainties or want to make sure your documentation is up to scratch.
