New Right to Work checks go live in the UK

What is the current Right to Work checking system?

UK Law dictates that it is illegal to employ any person who does not have the right to work in the UK. Employing an illegal worker can result in a criminal conviction and/or a penalty of up to £20,000 per employee, so the importance of carrying out adequate right to work checks should not be understated. Employers who can evidence that all necessary steps have been taken to verify eligibility will then have a statutory defence if that worker is later discovered to be illegally working. Shortcuts cannot be taken.

Before the pandemic, Home Office rules determined that right to work checks were to be conducted face to face. Job applicants were required to present all documentation that proved their right to work in person.

COVID-19 changed this process as social distancing laws prevented face to face meetings. Temporary adjustments were introduced on 30 March 2020, allowing video conferencing to be used to physically identify the job applicant. This change limited any disruption to the domestic job market, but still ensured compliance with the Government’s strategy to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Applicants still needed to provide their documentation, albeit digitally.

Whilst this move was successful, the adjustment increased the potential for fraudulent documents to be used and because of this risk the temporary adjustments were removed on 30 September 2022.

What will change from 1 October 2022?

From 1 October 2022, employers need to complete their right to work checks in person or put in place alternative processes and systems with an IDSP. An IDSP is a certified identification document validation technology service provider who carries out digital identity checks in respect of individuals on behalf of the employer.

Whilst desirable to use a certified IDSP, it is not mandatory.

The verification process provided by an IDSP will validate the identity of the applicant and their documents remotely. Initially, this verification process will only cover British and Irish citizens, covering the right-to-work checks in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checklist/employers-right-to-work-checklist-accessible-version

In summary, employers must:

• Obtain original versions of acceptable documents in line with the Home Office right to work checklist
• Check the documents’ validity either in the presence of the holder or use a certified IDSP provider
• Retain a clear copy, and record the date the check was made, recording the name of the individual who performed the check.

All non-British and non-Irish checks will continue to be performed using the Home Office Right to Work Checking Tool, alongside video conferencing.

What about retrospective checking?

The Home Office has confirmed that retrospective checks do not need to be conducted where a compliant COVID-19 temporary adjusted check was carried out between 30 March 2020 and 30 September 2022. Employers will continue to have a defence against a civil penalty if the checks completed during this time align with the COVID-19 adjusted guidance.

How can Round Turn Partners help?

Prospective candidates follow simple, guided steps to snap pictures of their right to work documentation and themselves with their smartphone.

Our fully automated solution, currently in the process of IDSP accreditation, validates the documents, and our facial recognition technology matches the candidate’s ‘selfie’ to the photo provided on the documents.

This quick and seamless process verifies the candidate’s identity, matches selfies with documentation, determines document authenticity, and then delivers the results to the employer. 

Our solution is quick and easy to integrate into a customer’s existing web-site or HR portal. We can easily interface with any downstream systems to provide clean, automated processes beyond the collection of documentation allowing the provision of configurable E2E processes which are fully Traceable, Explainable and Auditable.