Employers should be aware that the Home Office have released an updated guide on right to work checks. The most significant updates relate to:
1. The use of online right to work checks
2. An amendment to the acceptable document list to remove the requirement that a British birth certificate must be the full (long) certificate.
The use of online right to work checks
For individuals with a biometric residence permit or a new EU settled status (for EU nationals living in the UK after BREXIT), the Government now offer an optional online right to work service.
What you should know
If the online Government service is used there are still important steps that must be followed to support compliance and a statutory excuse.
“If you carry out satisfactory right to work checks, you will have a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty This means that if we find that you have employed someone who does not have the right to work, but you have correctly conducted document checks as required, you will not receive a civil penalty for that illegal worker.” –Home Office
The Experian right to work check app has been updated to reflect this change.
Following this change a candidate may supply you with a ‘share-code’ as opposed to presenting you with their ID documentation. If you are supplied with a share-code, within the Experian right to work app you can simply select option ‘online right to work share code’ and the app will guide you through the steps you need to take.
Once the check has been submitted, HR administrators or portal users of the Experian right to work app will be guided to use the share code to view the candidate’s right to work status online. From here you will be alerted to check the photograph of the individual, to ensure that the individual viewed online is the same as the submitted check and to upload the document you view online to the portal.
The amendment to the acceptable document list: removing the requirement for a full British birth certificate
The legislation now allows for a ‘short-form’ birth or adoption certificate, together with an official document confirming a candidate’s National Insurance number, as an acceptable right to work document.
The Experian right to work check app has been updated to reflect this change.
By choosing the Experian right to work app you can rest assured that updates to our system will be made as and when legislation changes. The app will also advise when to delete archived checks on employees who have left your business, as required by immigration and GDPR legislation. To see the full benefits of using the Experian right to work app to help you to meet the Home Office guidelines required for a statutory excuse click here or contact a member of our expert team to find out more about the Experian right to work check and other services we offer.