UK employers will be aware of the number of changes to right to work guidance over the past few years.

They will be well-versed in the importance of undertaking compliant right to work checks at the appropriate times: before any new employee starts work and before any existing employee’s immigration permission expires (if it is time limited).

It is also important to keep the correct documents to evidence the checks have been correctly carried out.

While it can seem burdensome, it can help employers establish a statutory defence/ excuse against a civil penalty of up to £20,000 (per illegal worker) being imposed. UK organisations will need to take appropriate action for example, by amending their processes and checklists.

Covid-related adjusted measures

At the height of the pandemic, the Home Office introduced temporary adjusted right to work measures on 30 March 2020.

These measures, which have been well received by UK organisations, allow employers to conveniently carry out right to work checks over video calls and using scans/ photos rather than needing to see original documents.

After two and a half years of continuous extensions, these temporary measures will end on 30 September 2022.

This means that from 1 October 2022 onwards, it will no longer be acceptable to conduct right to work checks using the temporary adjusted measures, and it will be necessary to go back to manual checks (where still permissible) or to use one of the below methods.

Online only checks – biometric card holders

From 6 April 2022, biometric card holders can no longer present this as evidence of their right to work in the UK. This means employers cannot carry out a manual check on these documents.

Instead, it will only be possible for employers to use the Home Office online service to check an individual’s right to work in the UK, by obtaining a “share code” from individuals.

New Identification Document Validation Technology (“IDVT”)

Traditionally, right to work checks on British and Irish citizens can only be conducted manually i.e. physical examination of the original document(s).

The current Covid-related adjusted measures provide employers with a temporary workaround to this problem but as we know, the adjusted measures are coming to an end.

This means that employers will need to go back to carrying out manual checks on British and Irish citizens, as the above online only checks are not suitable.

The alternative option, and the Home Office’s answer to this inconvenience is the introduction of the new IDVT method.

This method allows UK employers to use a certified digital identity service provider (IDSPs) to conduct RTW checks on valid British and Irish citizen passports (including Irish passport cards).

Different IDSPs will charged different fees usually ranging between £1.45 and £70. Whilst there is a cost factor of using the IDVT method, it does offer UK employers flexibility of keeping RTW checks digital, especially as the hybrid working model is still quite popular.

In addition, RTW checks conducted via a IDSP (a third-party) will be able to establish a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty for illegal working, whereas all other RTW methods must be conducted by the UK employer (and not a third party) to establish a statutory excuse.

What should your business do about right to work checks?

The good news is that employers who have carried out compliant right to work checks before/on the relevant dates are not required to carry out retrospective checks using one of the above methods.

We therefore recommend that where possible, compliant right to work checks are conducted before/ on the relevant date.

However, where employers are carrying out new or follow-up right to work checks on individuals on/ after the relevant date, these must comply with the new guidance and it is important to amend processes and checklists to reflect the changes.

It is worth noting that unless an employer chooses to use the new and optional IDVT method, there is no fee payable to conduct a right to work check.

We are happy to discuss your corporate immigration enquiries and offer bespoke solutions and training, please get in touch here.

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