How to Check a job applicant’s Right to Work in the UK

Before you employ a new employee, you must check that the job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK.
Employers can either:

• Check the job applicant’s original documents
• Check the applicant’s right to work online, you will need their share code.

How can you prove your right to work to an employer and generate a share code

You can share details of your right to work in the UK using this system. You will need one of the following:

• Your BRP ( Biometric Residence Permit) number
• Your BRP card number
• Your passport or national identity card

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen you can continue to use your passport or national identity card to prove your right to work in the UK until 30 June 2021.

How to check the applicant’s original documents

• Always ask to see original documents
• Check the documents are valid in presence of the applicant
• Make and keep clean copies of the documents and record the date, check was made.

What to check

You need to check that:

• The documents are original, genuine and unchanged and belong to the same person whom you have recruited
• They have right to work in the UK and dates have not expired
• Photos are same in all documents and look like to applicant
• Date of birth are same in all documents
• The applicant has permission to do the type of job offered including the number of hours they can work

Follow-up checks

If your employee’s right to work is time limited, you will need to check their documents again when it is due to expire. The best practice would be to have a process in place or use an immigration compliance software.

If the applicant is unable to show their documents to the employer

Employers must ask the Home Office to check your employee or potential employee’s immigration employment status if one of the following applies:

• Employer is reasonably satisfied that the employee cannot show you their documents because of an outstanding appeal, administrative review or application with the Home Office
• has an Application Registration Card
• has a Certificate of Application which is less than 6 months old
• He/she is a Commonwealth citizen who has been living in the UK since before 1988

Make sure you follow data protection law at all times.