Right to Work Checks: What You Need to Do

Every employer in the UK has a legal obligation to check that their employees have the right to work in the UK before they start. Getting this wrong can lead to significant fines, up to £45,000 per illegal worker, so it's important to get it right.

When to carry out the check

Right to work checks must be completed before the employee starts work, not on their first day, not during their first week, but before they begin. This applies to every new employee, regardless of nationality.

How to carry out a manual check

The process involves three steps:

• Obtain, ask the employee to provide original documents from the acceptable documents list (available on GOV.UK)
• Check, verify the documents are genuine, belong to the person, and allow them to do the work you're offering
• Copy, take a clear copy of the documents and record the date the check was made

Online checks

For employees with a biometric residence permit, biometric residence card, or frontier worker permit, you can use the Home Office online checking service. For British and Irish citizens with a valid passport, you can use an Identity Service Provider to carry out a digital check.

Follow up checks

If an employee has a time limited right to work, you'll need to carry out a follow up check before their permission expires. Set a reminder so you don't miss it.

Keep your records

Keep copies of all right to work documents for the duration of employment and for two years after the employee leaves. This gives you a statutory excuse if it later turns out the employee didn't have the right to work.