Home Office Concession on 'Adjusted Right-To-Work Checks' Comes to an End
The Home Office's temporary concession allowing employers to conduct right to work checks using scanned or copy documents came to an end on 30 September 2022.
Temporary adjustments for employers conducting right to work checks were introduced in March 2020, as part of the Home Office's plans to address changes to working patterns as a result of Coronavirus (Covid-19). The concession was due to end on 6 April 2022, but this was postponed to 30 September 2022 following the government’s announcement that employers could use identification document validation technology (IDVT) to conduct right to work checks on holders of current British and Irish passports.
The decision to defer the end date was to allow employers to continue with post-pandemic working practices whilst either making arrangements to re-introduce measures for conducting face to face document checks or engaging an identity services provider (IDSP) to conduct checks using IDVT to on the employer's behalf.
As of 1 October 2022, employers must carry out one of the following prescribed checks before employment commences:
- a manual right to work check on a physical document or combination of documents as set out in the Home Office's Right to Work checklist
- a Home Office online right to work check (using a share code generated by an employee or prospective employee who holds a biometric residence permit or card, or a digital immigration status)
- a right to work check using IDVT through the services of an IDSP (holders of valid British or Irish passports or Irish passport cards only)
By conducting any of these checks in accordance with the Home Office's guidance, employers will obtain a statutory excuse which protects them against a civil penalty.
VWV Plus's eLearning series, HR & Employment Law for Managers includes a module on conducting Right to work checks. Further details can be found here.