UK Right to Work Guide

November 10, 2022

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As an employer, you’ll know it’s your legal responsibility to check the immigration status of each candidate with a right to work check - but did you know this can now be done digitally without any in-person involvement?

With digital right to work checks underway - learn how you can obtain a statutory excuse and stay one step ahead of illegal workers along with the severe consequences of hiring them.

Right to Work legislation requires that every United Kingdom (UK) employer, regardless of size, conduct a right to work check on every new employee before they are onboarded, as well as ensuring the right to work status of existing employees. Though it is a simple prerequisite, failure to comply can result in serious repercussions for employers. Non-compliance can result in fines of up to £20,000 per employee and/or a jail term of 5 year.

The severity of the penalties for employing an undocumented immigrant worker can potentially damage the employer's brand and business reputation as well as lead to sponsor license suspensions and disqualification of directors. The only way to establish a defence against a civil penalty or statutory excuse is for the employer to demonstrate that the right to work check has been carried out as per the regulations and the employer has valid proof of the same.

Our comprehensive right to work guide covers all of the latest updates - including how employers can remotely verify an individual's right to work status using an identity service provider!

In this report, we discuss:

- Who has the right to work in the UK?

- What is UK’s Right to Work Check?

- What are the employer obligations for the right to work check?

- How does an IDSP enable employer compliance with the right to work check?

- How can Veremark help employers comply with the regulation?

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FAQs

What background check do I need?

This depends on the industry and type of role you are recruiting for. To determine whether you need reference checks, identity checks, bankruptcy checks, civil background checks, credit checks for employment or any of the other background checks we offer, chat to our team of dedicated account managers.

Why should employers check the background of potential employees?

Many industries have compliance-related employment check requirements. And even if your industry doesn’t, remember that your staff have access to assets and data that must be protected. When you employ a new staff member you need to be certain that they have the best interests of your business at heart. Carrying out comprehensive background checking helps mitigate risk and ensures a safer hiring decision.

How long do background checks take?

Again, this depends on the type of checks you need. Simple identity checks can be carried out in as little as a few hours but a worldwide criminal background check for instance might take several weeks. A simple pre-employment check package takes around a week. Our account managers are specialists and can provide detailed information into which checks you need and how long they will take.

Can you do a background check online?

All Veremark checks are carried out online and digitally. This eliminates the need to collect, store and manage paper documents and information making the process faster, more efficient and ensures complete safety of candidate data and documents.

What are the benefits of a background check?

In a competitive marketplace, making the right hiring decisions is key to the success of your company. Employment background checks enables you to understand more about your candidates before making crucial decisions which can have either beneficial or catastrophic effects on your business.

What does a background check show?

Background checks not only provide useful insights into a candidate’s work history, skills and education, but they can also offer richer detail into someone’s personality and character traits. This gives you a huge advantage when considering who to hire. Background checking also ensures that candidates are legally allowed to carry out certain roles, failed criminal and credit checks could prevent them from working with vulnerable people or in a financial function.