Digitisation of Right to Work checks

Another month, another update to the Right to Work checks guidance!

On 6 April, the Home Office published updated guidance, Right to work checks: an employer's guide.

The update contained a number of important changes and it seems the Home Office continue to move towards the digitisation of immigration systems.

It is no longer possible for individuals to provide a physical Biometric Residence Card, Biometric Residence Permit or Frontier Worker Permit for the employer to conduct a manual check of their right to work in the UK. The list of acceptable documents to evidence right to work in Annex A has been updated to reflect this change. Instead, an employer will need to conduct a right to work check using the online right to work checking service for these individuals.

For those who are British or Irish citizens holding a valid passport, the Home Office now allows employers to comply with their responsibilities to conduct right to work checks using Identity Service Providers (IDSPs) to complete the identity verification element of checks. To ensure employers obtain a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty, they must follow the required steps to verify a person’s identity and eligibility using Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) as set out in the guidance. The potential benefit of using IDVT is that it allows employers to delegate elements of the checking process to IDSPs and to carry out remote digital checks.

To allow employers time to transition to the use of IDVT through IDSPs, the Home Office has extended the end date for adjusted right to work checks to 30 September 2022.

Given the serious consequences in the event of non-compliance with right to work checks legislation and guidance, we encourage employers to ensure their staff are trained in how to conduct right to work checks.

If you would like any advice or assistance regarding right to work checks then please do not hesitate to contact Janey Armstrong or Laura Penman in our immigration team.