The Home Office Right to Work guidance has been released, detailing steps that employers need to take to ensure that employees have right to work from the 1 July 2021.
Key points;
- Employers can use a share code in order to verify a prospective employee’s right to work online. The employer must still do this in the presence of the individual (or via video calls until 30 August 2021) to check the individual presenting themselves matches the photograph on the online right to work check. The employer should also keep a copy of the online check.
- However, employers cannot insist that the check is done this way.
- Employers can still undertake manual document-based checks of physical documents if the right to work status cannot be checked digitally.
- An online service has been made available to find out which documents employers will need to see to prove right to work, or there are new Lists A and B (which can be viewed at Annex B of the guidance). Employers need to see the original document with the individual present, retain copies of the documents and record the date the check was made. This can be done virtually until 31 August 2021.
- Employers do not need to retrospectively check the right to work status of their workforce whose right to work status was checked using the prescribed process prior to 1 July 2021. This also applies to workers who do not begin work until after 1 July 2021, provided that the check was done before this date.
- If an employer does choose to retrospectively check their workforce, this must be done in a non-discriminatory manner.
The Home Office has also updated guidance to confirm that the end date for the temporary adjusted checking processes is now 31 August 2021. This means that employers will not need to check original documents in person with the individual present until 1 September 2021. Instead, employers can continue to use the below process;
- undertake the checks over video calls
- job applicants and existing workers can send scanned documents or a photo of documents for checks using email or a mobile app, rather than sending originals
- during the call the applicant must hold up the ID to demonstrate its validity
- use the Employer Checking Service if a prospective or existing employee cannot provide any of the accepted documents
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