Under the digital scheme, an employer can perform a digital verification of the right to work of holders of current biometric passports from the United Kingdom and Ireland using the IDVT of an identity service provider (IDSP). The IDSP will share a report on the right to work for registration. Guidance on how digital identity providers can be certified to complete digital identity checks in relation to the “Right to Work”, “Right to Rent” and DBS regimes. Digital verification of the right to work allows employers to use identity document validation (IDVT) technology through a certified identity service provider (IDSP) to complete the digital identity verification process related to the right to work controls of British passport holders and Irish.
Employers can use identification document validation (IDVT) technology to carry out digital verification of the right to work of eligible British and Irish citizens. Employers can work with certified identity service providers (IDSP) to use identification document validation (IDVT) technology to perform digital identity checks on behalf of British and Irish citizens who have a valid passport. The objective of these digital identity controls is to accelerate the hiring and onboarding process and to help support organizations after COVID. Right-to-work checks are checks carried out by employers before a person starts working, to ensure that the prospective employee has the correct immigration status to allow them to work in the United Kingdom.
The right to work must be monitored for all employees residing in the United Kingdom. By making right-to-work controls a legal requirement, the UK Government seeks to prevent illegal work, exploitation and other negative economic consequences. For more information on right-to-work checks, see our specific article. Employers who wish to use an IDSP as part of their digital right-to-work checks must ensure that the selected IDSP performs identity verification before the prospective employee begins to Work.
The employer will have a legal excuse if they can show that they met all legal requirements when performing an RTW check. In addition to this, to have a legal excuse, employers using an IDSP must also ensure that the IDSP has followed the required steps. If it is proven that an employee is working in the UK illegally and the checks have not been carried out correctly, the employer will have no legal excuse. You must perform a visual check of the person to verify that the person in front of you matches the documents provided (e.g.It matches the photographs and your date of birth matches).
This verification can be done in person with the person who is physically in front of you or through a live video link with the person. It is not mandatory to use an IDVT to verify the identity of British or Irish citizens, and manual checks can continue to be carried out using the documents listed on lists A and B. The introduction of the IDVT system is intended to allow companies to implement a more effective procurement process. Save the result of the IDVT verification in the IDSP.
This includes a copy of the IDVT check and the verified document; these copies must be clear and legible and in a format that cannot be modified. Do your own due diligence to ensure that the IDSP has completed the verification correctly. Our business immigration team can help you with any questions related to your right to work, challenge Home Office decisions, and train your human resources team on right-to-work controls. If you need help, please contact us.
Checkback International Group Incorporating Vetting Solutions Centre Ltd It's important to note that each of these IDSPs has different processes, so as an organization, you'll need to evaluate which IDSP best fits your business needs and requirements. For example, the partnership between Yoti and Post Office allows a person to visit the post office, where a staff member will review the document and upload it to the digital identification application. This can be useful for companies that hire people from all over the UK and don't have staff in the regions where they hire staff who can perform this check themselves. Another important factor your company can consider is the cost of each check.
Thanks to our relationships with HooYu, we realized that they were willing to offer discounts for buying checks in bulk, so in the long run, “going shopping” can be beneficial to you. As already mentioned, it is not mandatory for employers to use a certified IDSP to prove the right to work. However, both we and the Home Office recommend that you use a certified IDSP, as this reduces the risk of you hiring someone who has no right to work in the United Kingdom. Organizations that do not use a certified IDSP will not get the legal excuse if they are found to have employed a person who has no right to work in the UK.
At Paragon Law, our experienced business immigration attorneys have helped many employers verify their right to work to ensure that they meet their obligations as employers. For more information on right-to-work controls or for help with another matter related to UK immigration law, please contact us. If you need help verifying your right to work or fulfilling your obligations as an employer, contact us today to speak with an experienced immigration attorney. Verify employee eligibility quickly and securely with our digital right-to-work checks. Our innovative solution streamlines the employee selection process, ensuring compliance with UK Home Office regulations.
Say goodbye to manual document verification and harness the power of digital identity verification for UK and Irish citizens. Manually and in person, or it can be done digitally through a Right To Work Check service partner, such as us. It is mandatory to carry out a right to work check before hiring a person, to ensure that they are legally authorized to perform the work in question for you. It should also be possible to carry out manual verification for foreign citizens who are unable to prove their right to work through the online verification system.
The right to work of all candidates in the United Kingdom must be verified; employers must not assume that a candidate is allowed to work just because they have applied for a position. Similarly, except when an employer expressly uses an IDSP to prove the right to work of British and Irish citizens with a valid passport (or Irish passport card), it is not possible to establish a legal excuse for liability for a civil sanction when an IDSP has been used for manual document-based verification. Verification of the right to work is the process of reviewing a document that is acceptable to show a person's permission to work in the United Kingdom. This development will align with the Disclosure and Prohibition Service (DBS) proposal to allow digital identity verification within its criminal record processes. For British or Irish citizens who do not have a valid passport or who do not wish to prove their identity through an IDSP, employers can instead carry out a document-based manual verification of the right to work.
Even with the new guidelines provided by the DBS and the Ministry of the Interior (202), employers have every right to continue to manually verify the identity of their candidates and face expensive. A DBS verification may still be required depending on the type of role and the responsibilities of the role you are asking the applicant to play. Digital identity verification controls add another level of fraud protection to your business.