As a UK employer, it is your legal obligation to comply with legislation on the prevention of illegal work. This requires that you carry out basic checks on all employees resident in the United Kingdom to verify that they have the necessary permission to perform the work offered. It is important to note that, as part of pre-hire checks, checks must be carried out indiscriminately on all potential employees, regardless of their nationality, race or ethnic origin. The selection of certain classes of people could lead to complaints of unlawful discrimination. Verifying the right to work means verifying a document that is acceptable to show permission to work.
This must contain a photograph showing that the employee has the correct license and can perform the job. If you offer additional employment to a qualified worker, you will need to prove, as part of the right to work, that they are allowed to work and that the person is capable of performing the job you are offering them. Manual verification will be necessary for any citizen other than British or Irish, for example, if the person has a visa in their passport. Under certain circumstances, you'll need to contact the Home Office's Employer Verification Service (ECS) to establish a legal excuse. The employer must keep a copy of the right to work check in the form of a “profile” page that verifies the person's eligibility for work. While the program was open, employers were allowed to perform document checks remotely using video calls, and applicants submitted their documentation electronically instead of submitting it in original format.
All copies of the documents taken must be kept securely for the duration of the worker's employment and for two years thereafter. In that case, the copy must be in a safe place. You are also required to carry out a follow-up check on people who have a limited-time permit to work in the UK. If a person's right to work is limited in time, a follow-up check should be carried out shortly before its end. In these cases, it is not necessary for the migrant or the employer to submit a separate application to the Department of Labor and Pensions. The UK website, by doing so, will have a legal excuse against liability for a civil sanction in the event that they are found to have employed a person who is prevented from doing the work in question due to their immigration status.
Employers must keep this information securely for the duration of employment and for two more years after employment has ended. No type of work is allowed until these work checks have been made; if valid documents are not submitted, the start date of the worker's employment will be delayed. Davidson Morris is a legal advisor specializing in business immigration who works with UK employers to ensure compliance with their obligations to prevent illegal work. By verifying a person's immigration status before starting work, employers can avoid investing a lot of time and resources in an employee who is later found to be in the UK illegally. It is recommended that employers verify the right to work during the interview phase.
