Right to Work
What is right to work?
Right to work is how the UK government refers to the legal requirement for people to have the ability to work in the UK. This tends to refer to immigration status and employment law. While British and Irish citizens automatically have a right to work in the UK, those who are not a British citizen will need to prove that they are not an illegal worker.
Employers are legally required to check that a prospective employee’s immigration status is within the law before offering them a job. Employers who fail to check the immigration status of a prospective employee are knowingly carry out an illegal working arrangement will be penalised. The UK employers who do not follow home office guidance can face fines and criminal prosecution.
How do I check a prospective employee's right to work?
Checking the right to work of a prospective employee is paramount for any business operating in the UK. In order to be compliant with right to work laws, you’ll need to do checks on prospective employees.
Document Checks
Prospective employees must provide original documents that prove their right to work in the UK. These documents can be a valid passport, biometric residence permit, proof of membership in the EU settlement scheme or national identity card for EEA nationals. Without acceptable documents, applicants will not be able to meet right to work compliance needs.
If a candidates documents are with the Home Office, the home office can confirm if the individual has the right to work with a positive verification notice (PVN). You can obtain one of these through the employer checking service. A PVN is only valid for 6 months, and should be kept with the employment records. Software such as the Eclipse CRM tool can used to monitor the validity of a PVN and provide notifications when it is nearing the expiry date.
Verify Documents
Documents provided must be genuine, up to date, and relate to the person presenting them. There is identity document validation technology that has been introduced in recent years to help employers check the right to work of a prospective employee.
There is also an online service developed by the home office for checking the status of of a job applicant’s right to work in the UK which recruiters can use to perform right to work checks.
Recruitment agencies could also choose to use an identity service provider to ensure that documents are verified. These companies use identity document validation technology to check the individual providing the documents is who they claim to be.
Record Keeping
Make clear and accurate copies of documents provided by existing employees. You must keep copies of the applicant’s original documents for the duration of their employment and for at least two years after their employment end.
How does Eclipse Help?
The Eclipse Core Pro recruitment software can help to monitor right to work to streamline processes for recruitment agencies and make sure that compliance is followed at every step.
The software helps to manage and store right to work documents such as visas, identification and work permits, keeping all important documents in a centralised location for checking when needed. When a document is due to expire, the software can set automated reminders to help recruitment teams stay on top of documentation.
Eclipse can also help to verify the authenticity of right to work documentation, reducing the risk of candidates lying or presenting false documents. It does this by integrating with government databases, giving you real time verification of a candidates right to work status and ensuring that all information is up to date.