It has always been a requirement under UK law for employers to conduct ‘right-to-work’ checks, to confirm the validity of original documents during the recruitment process.
As a result of pandemic restrictions, the Home Office introduced temporary measures to enable applicants to provide relevant evidence in the form of a photograph or scanned documentation, subsequently validated on-line by the prospective employer e.g. via video conference.
The owner/applicant should hold the original documents to the camera so that the employer can double-check these against the digital copies received.
The employer should record on the documentation the date the check was made and write ‘adjusted check undertaken on [date] due to COVID-19’.
Where an applicant is unable to provide acceptable documentation the employer should use the Home Office Employer Checking Service.
The Home Office has recently confirmed a further extension to these temporary adjustments and digital Right to Work checks which will now remain in place until 5th April 2022.
Following the cessation of these temporary adjustments B2P would strongly recommend that the employer repeats this process, requesting the employee re-submits original documentation for re-validation.
NB. Please remember that employing an illegal worker could lead to a fine of £20,000, criminal charges, reputational damage and/or the loss of any sponsored workers.
For further guidance visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-right-to-work-checks
