Right to Work Check: Employer Guide

Why Right to Work Checks Matter

Every UK employer, regardless of size, is legally required to check that their employees have the right to work in the UK before employment begins. This applies to all employees, not just those who appear to be from overseas. The requirement is set out in the Home Office employer's guide on GOV.UK.

The consequences of getting it wrong are severe. See our illegal working penalties guide for full details. The code of practice in force since 13 February 2024 sets the civil penalty starting points at £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat breach. In the most serious cases criminal prosecution is possible, carrying up to 5 years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Conducting proper checks also protects you. If you follow the correct process and it later turns out an employee did not have the right to work, your statutory excuse protects you from a civil penalty.

The Three Methods of Checking

There are three ways to conduct a right to work check. The method you use depends on the employee's circumstances:

1. Manual Document Check

The traditional method. You physically examine the employee's original documents, check they are genuine, take copies, and retain them.

This method can be used for all employees. It involves:

1. Obtain: Ask the employee to provide original documents from the acceptable documents lists (List A or List B, published by the Home Office).
2. Check: Verify the documents are genuine, belong to the person presenting them, and allow the person to do the work you are offering. Check photographs, dates of birth, expiry dates, and that the documents have not been tampered with.
3. Copy: Make a clear copy of each document. For passports, copy the photo page and any pages with visa stamps or endorsements.
4. Or do it over video. The check must be made in the person’s presence, which the employer’s guide says “can be a physical presence in person or via a live video link”. It adds the condition: “In both cases you must be in physical possession of the original documents.”
5. Record: Note the date the check was made. Retain copies for the duration of employment and for 2 years after employment ends.

2. Home Office Online Service

This is now the usual check. GOV.UK is direct about what replaced the old card: “You can no longer accept biometric residence cards or permits. Ask the applicant for a share code instead.” The online check covers anyone whose status is held digitally, including settled and pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and any eVisa held in a UKVI account.

The employee generates a share code through Prove your right to work to an employer. You enter that code and their date of birth at View a job applicant’s right to work details, and keep the result — the guide says to retain the profile page showing the photograph. The code is valid for 90 calendar days from being issued and can be used as many times as needed in that time.

British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code, so this method is not available for them.

3. Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT)

IDVT allows checks to be conducted remotely using technology that verifies identity documents digitally. This method can only be used for British and Irish citizens with valid passports (or Irish passport cards).

Employers can use an Identity Service Provider (IDSP) certified to conduct these checks. The IDSP verifies the passport digitally and confirms the person's identity. This is useful for remote hiring.

Acceptable Documents

The Home Office publishes two lists of acceptable documents:

List A: Unlimited Right to Work

Documents that prove an ongoing, unrestricted right to work. Includes:

• A British passport, current or expired. An Irish passport or passport card, current or expired
• A current passport endorsed to show the holder is exempt from immigration control, is allowed to stay indefinitely, has the right of abode, or has no time limit on their stay
• A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen, together with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and name
• A UK birth or adoption certificate, together with that same National Insurance document

A clipped passport — one with the corners of pages cut off — is a cancelled document and is not acceptable. Permanent residence cards issued to European Union nationals before the end of free movement are no longer on the list.

If you check a List A document, you establish a continuous statutory excuse for the entire duration of employment. No follow-up check is required.

List B: Time-Limited Right to Work

List B is in two groups, and the group decides how long the statutory excuse lasts.

Group 1 — excuse lasts until the permission expires. A current passport endorsed to show the holder may stay and may do the work in question — for example a Skilled Worker or partner endorsement. A follow-up check is due before that date.

Group 2 — excuse lasts 6 months. These all depend on a Positive Verification Notice from the Employer Checking Service: a non-digital Certificate of Application for the EU Settlement Scheme, an Application Registration Card stating the holder may do the work, or a Positive Verification Notice on its own. The check is repeated every 6 months while the underlying application is outstanding.

Biometric residence permits are on neither list. The employer’s guide is explicit that “a manual check of an original, expired BRP is not acceptable proof of right to work in the UK”.

Follow-Up Checks

If an employee has time-limited right to work, you must conduct a follow-up check before their current permission expires. The employee may be protected by Section 3C leave if they applied for an extension before expiry, and they may have a Certificate of Application. The guide lists six situations in which the Employer Checking Service has to be used to establish a statutory excuse:

1. A non-digital Certificate of Application, acknowledgement letter or email for an EU Settlement Scheme application made on or before 30 June 2021
2. A non-digital Certificate of Application for an EU Settlement Scheme application made on or after 1 July 2021
3. A valid Application Registration Card stating the holder may do the work in question
4. No acceptable documents from a person who is not a British or Irish citizen, and no online check possible — for example a technical problem with their eVisa
5. Other information showing an outstanding application made before the previous permission expired, or a pending appeal or administrative review
6. No acceptable documents, but information indicating the person is a long-term resident who arrived in the UK before 1988

A statutory excuse arises only if a Positive Verification Notice comes back. The service aims to reply within 5 working days of a valid request, and the employer must tell the person the check is being made. A Positive Verification Notice gives an excuse for 6 months from the date on it.

Missing a follow-up check ends the statutory excuse, even where the first check was faultless.

The Statutory Excuse

The statutory excuse is your legal protection. If you conduct a proper right to work check (correct method, correct timing, copies retained) and the employee later turns out not to have the right to work, you are protected from a civil penalty.

To maintain the statutory excuse:

• Conduct the initial check before employment starts (not on the first day of work, but before)
• Use the correct method and check the right documents
• Retain clear copies of all checked documents
• Conduct follow-up checks for time-limited right to work before permission expires
• Keep records for the duration of employment plus 2 years after the employee leaves

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The penalties for employing someone without the right to work are significant:

• Civil penalty. The starting point is £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach, and £60,000 for a repeat breach — repeat meaning the employer was found employing illegal workers within the previous three years. Reductions are then applied; the code of practice gives a £5,000 reduction per worker where the employer reported its own suspicion to the Home Office and holds the acknowledgement reference. A penalty notice gives 28 days to respond
• Criminal prosecution. Up to 5 years in prison and an unlimited fine
• Sponsor licence revocation: If you hold a sponsor licence, employing illegal workers can lead to your licence being revoked, affecting all your sponsored employees.
• Publication. GOV.UK says your business’s details “may be published by Immigration Enforcement as a warning to other businesses not to employ illegal workers”
• A cooling-off period on a sponsor licence. Part 1 of the sponsor guidance sets 12 months from the date a civil penalty for employing an illegal worker is paid in full before a licence application can succeed, and says an application is always refused while the penalty is unpaid

Avoiding Discrimination

Right to work checks must be applied equally to all job applicants and employees, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or appearance. You must not:

• Check only people who "look foreign" or have foreign-sounding names
• Ask for more documents than necessary from certain employees
• Refuse to accept valid documents because the employee is from a particular country
• Treat people differently based on their immigration status (beyond what the law requires)

Discrimination in right to work checks can lead to complaints under the Equality Act 2010 and damage to your reputation as an employer.

Remote and Hybrid Workers

If you are hiring remotely, the method you use depends on the employee's status:

• British and Irish citizens: an identity service provider using Identity Document Validation Technology. Entirely remote.
• Anyone with a share code: the online check. Also entirely remote, and the usual route now that status is digital.
• A manual check: the employer’s guide allows “a physical presence in person or via a live video link”, but in both cases “you must be in physical possession of the original documents”. A video call while the documents are still with the employee does not meet it.

Record Keeping

Good record keeping is essential for maintaining your statutory excuse:

• Keep clear, legible copies of all checked documents
• Record the date of each check
• Store records securely (physical or digital, but must be accessible)
• Retain records for the duration of employment plus 2 years after the employee leaves
• Be able to produce records quickly if requested by the Home Office

Many employers use HR software to manage right to work records and set automatic reminders for follow-up checks. For employers who also sponsor workers, see our sponsor licence guide and certificate of sponsorship guide. Whatever system you use, ensure it meets the Home Office requirements.

Questions and answers