Employing bodies should conduct a right to work check before they employ a person to ensure they are legally allowed to do the work. If an individual’s right to work is time limited, employers should conduct a follow-up check shortly before it is due to come to an end. Ideally eligibility documents should be collected at the interview
There are two types of right to work checks; a manual check and an online check. Conducting either the manual check or the online check are set out in ‘An employer’s guide to right to work checks’ published by the Home Office: www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide
It is important to refer to this guidance as it explains what employers must do to prevent illegal working in the UK and how to carry out document checks on people before employing them to make sure they are allowed to work.Any checks that are made should be done in a non-discriminatory manner in accordance with the government guidance.
The guidance recommends that all job applicants should be treated in the same way. Document checking process for every new prospective employee:
Step 1 In order to comply with the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act, all candidates/applicants should be asked to bring the following documents to their interview so that copies of them can be taken and certified. The documents you may accept from a person to demonstrate their right to work are set out in two lists – List A and List B.
Step 2 You are required to check the validity of the documents and be satisfied that the prospective, or existing employee, is the rightful holder of the documents they present.
Step 3 Make sure you keep a photocopy of the documents shown to you as evidence.Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 sets out the law on the prevention of illegal working.
- It makes it a criminal offence for employer’s to employ someone aged 16 or over, who has no right to work in the United Kingdom, or no right to do the work we are offering.
- It gives employers a statutory defence against conviction for employing an illegal worker. You get this by checking and copying certain original documents belonging to prospective employee.
- It obliges employers to ensure that our recruitment practices do not discriminate against individuals on racial grounds.
In order to prevent employers committing such an offence, all offers of employment will be conditional upon the successful candidate providing either:
- ONE of the ORIGINAL documents included in LIST A ; OR
- TWO of the ORIGINAL documents in the combinations given in LIST B.
You do not need to produce documents from both lists.This/these documents must be provided prior to the date of start of the post offered by employers and will be photocopied and held in your personnel record.
LIST A
- A passport showing that the holder is a British citizen, or has a right of abode in the United Kingdom.
- A document showing that the holder is a national of a European Economic Area or Switzerland. This must be a national passport or national identity card.
- A residence permit issued by the Home Office to a national from a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
- A passport or other document issued by the Home Office which has an endorsement stating that the holder has a current right of residence in the United Kingdom as the family member of a national from a European Economic Area country or Switzerland who is resident in the United Kingdom.
- A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay.
- A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder can stay in the United Kingdom; and that this endorsement slows the holder to do the type of work you are offering if they do not have a work permit.
- An Application Registration Card issued by the Home Office to an asylum seeker that the holder is permitted to take employment.
LIST B
First combination
A document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance Number and name. This could be a P45, P60, National Insurance Card or a letter from a Government Agency.Along with checking and copying a document giving the person’s National Insurance Number, You must also check and copy only ONE of the following documents.
- A full birth certificate issued in the United Kingdom, which includes the names of the holder’s parents: OR
- A birth certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland: OR
- A certificate of resignation or naturalisation stating that the holder is a British Citizen, OR
- A letter issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the person named in it can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay: OR
- An Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the person named in it can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay; OR
- A letter issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the person named in it can stay in the United Kingdom, AND this allows them to do the type of work you are offering; OR
- An Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the person named in it can stay in the United Kingdom, AND this allows them to do the type of work you are offering.
Second Combination
- A work permit or other approval to take employment that has been issued by Work Permits UK.
Along with a documents issued by Work Permits UK, you should also check and copy on of the following documents.
- A passport or other travel documents endorsed to show that the holder is able to stay in the United Kingdom and can take the work permit employment in question; OR
- A letter issued by the Home Office to the holder confirmed that the person named in it is able to stay in the United Kingdom and can take the work permit employment in question.
The legal framework
The way employers hire someone from outside the UK changed on 1 January 2021, when the Brexit transition period ended. There is now a points-based immigration system. This means that organisations and employing bodies need a sponsor licence to hire most employees and workers from outside the UK.Employers will need a separate sponsor licence for each person that they want to hire. Find out more about UK visa sponsorship for employers on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employersUseful contacts
- Border and Immigration Agency’s Employer’s Helpline: Tel: 0845 010 6677
- Sponsorship and Employer’s Helpline: Tel: +44 (0) 300 123 4699
- Home Office UK Border Agency - Information for employers and sponsors
- Business Link - Check the eligibility of your migrant workers [interactive online tool]
- Home Office UK Border Agency - Working in the UK
- HM Revenue & Customs – Coming to work in the UK