Why do you need to conduct Right to Work checks before hiring ?

Many checks are carried out during recruitment, which can be confusing, and you may find yourself questioning why it must be done every time. But all checks have their reasons for why they need to be done. You may think, doesn’t everybody have a right to find employment? Yes, we do, but you must do it by employment law, which could differ in each country.

What is a Right to Work check?

A right to work check is a way to see if someone can work in the UK. It is a statutory home office requirement set to ensure that nobody is working illegally. There are three steps carried out to do a check and they are: obtain, check, and copy.

The documents presented must be in the correct form according to Right to Work Checks: An Employer's Guide so they can be validated for approval. This will then allow employment to commence on the start date discussed.

Consequence that would happen if there were no compliance

As an employer, it would be your responsibility to carry out a right to work check on all your employees. If there is failure to comply with this, it can come with serious consequences. If you are found to have illegal workers, you could suffer a fine of up to £20,000 per employee. If the case is more serious then you could be sentenced up to 5 years in prison with an unlimited fine. Depending on the type of organisation, licenses could be revoked as well.

How do you conduct a Right to Work check?

There are three steps to be carried out when completing a right to work check. They must be done before the employment of the individual begins.

Step 1- obtain

You must gather documents listed in the Rights to Work document after getting permission from the candidate. List A consists of documents that only have to be checked once and list B consists of documents that will expire and must be checked again.

Step 2- check

You must check if the documents presented are valid and belong to the candidate. To ensure the documents belong to the candidate, you must have photographic proof and details, such as their date of birth, to be consistent. They must also have documents that are not expired because they will be seen as invalid. The documents must also be in their original state. As an example, this means they cannot be tampered with by being laminated.

Step 3- copy

You must now hold a copy of the evidence to prove you have carried out a right to work check. You must copy the page in the passport which has the candidates’ details on there. You must also have a copy of a document that has proof of nationality and residency. These copies must be kept during their time of employment, but they have to be destroyed two years after they no longer work there.

Conclusion- Do you think Right to Work checks should be carried out?

To sum it up, you must conduct right to work checks to protect the business and potential employees. It is illegal to have employees that are not legally allowed to work and if they were to show documents that are not theirs or have falsified information. Without conducting the right to work check in the UK, you will risk prosecution.

For more information you can visit Complygate’s Right to Work page. You will be asked to answer some simple questions and upload documents to see if the candidate is authorised to work and if the documents are authentic.