Employers conduct right to work checks on prospective and existing employees to give them complete peace of mind that those employees are legally allowed to work in the UK. Eurocom CI’s right to work check services form an essential component of our comprehensive, structured pre-employment background screening solutions. We can provide you with fast results, an up-to-date, fully-managed and compliant system.
What is a Right to Work Check?
A right to work check is a compulsory, legal requirement that forms part of an organisation’s recruitment process. Every employer in the UK must verify that an employee is legally entitled to work in the UK and their visa status and residency to permit them to do so.
Organisations must check applicable documents to establish a prospective employee’s permanent or temporary right to work in the UK. This has to be done before anybody is hired to ensure that they follow their legal obligations. Failure to comply with this can result in fines and potential legal action from the Home Office.
Why do Employers Need a Right to Work Check?
Employers in the UK have a duty to prevent illegal working. By conducting some straightforward right to work checks, they can do their part in preventing illegal immigration and labour, mitigate risks against their organisation and the employees within it, and ensure every hire is compliant, lawful and ethical.
Breaking the law concerning right to work checks can result in:
- Unlimited fines
- Imprisonment
- Blacklisting of your business
- Foreclosure
Your business can also be penalised if you do not comply with the Home Office guidelines for correct right to work screening procedures.
Why Conduct a Right to Work Check?
In short, compliant right to work background screening:
- Minimises liability for your company
- Minimises and mitigates any risks of illegal or unethical hires
- Protects your business from legal action, fines or imprisonment
- Saves you time and money
- Demonstrates integrity and accountability within your business
- Contributes to the prevention of illegal working
When Should You Conduct Right to Work Checks?
Every organisation should check right to work documents as part of their background screening procedures and before any hire is made. With an increasing number of worldwide workers, right to work checks are vital to conduct during the hiring stage. Every check should be completed before any employment begins.
Right to Work Check Documents
There are two lists of documents (List A and List B) that can be accepted as proof of right to work in the UK. Whether an applicant falls under List A or List B depends on their nationality and their current immigration status in the UK.
List A: Permanent proof of right to work - Applies to: British nationals, EU/EEA nationals, Permanent Residence (PR) visa holders or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) visa holders.
List B: Temporary proof of right to work - Applies to: Tier 1, Tier 2 (Skilled Worker), Tier 4 (Student) or Tier 5 visa holders, as well as dependant visa holders.
How Long Does a Right to Work Check Take?
Eurocom CI’s right to work solutions aim to give results almost instantly, thanks to our electronic verification system of ID documents. Most checks are entirely automated, and results are delivered quickly. However, there are rare instances where we may require to investigate documentation further.
How to Check Right to Work Documents
Our built-in platform, which is compliant with Home Office guidelines, will check the following:
- Live identification of the candidate
- Dates of birth
We will manually check the following and verify it with the Home Office directly:
- Expiry dates of visas or residence permits
- Any work restrictions (if applicable)
- Name and date cross-referencing
You can also share your Share Code link from the Home Office. We will manually check and verify with the Home Office by Share Code.
Right to Work Checks from Eurocom CI
Get in touch with Eurocom CI to see how we can help fulfil your employee background screening requirements quickly and thoroughly. We offer free trials of our software so you can see how it’d work before signing up for any of our background check packages. If this is of interest to you, please let us know, and we can arrange a demonstration.
