UKVI have announced changes to the way right to work checks can be conducted during the Covid 19 crisis. This is a temporary change. You can read their official announcement by clicking here.
The key points to be aware of are these:
- Checks can be carried out of a video call, but you must have received a copy of the document by email or through a mobile phone app. You can then compare the holder with the original and the copy over a video call.
- Where necessary, the Employer Checking Service should continue to be used
- It remains an offence to knowingly employ anyone who does not have the right to work in the UK
- When recording the date of the check you MUST record the date of the check and annotate it “adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] die to Covid-19”
- If the person holds a BRP or settled status under the EU settlement scheme, employers can use the online checking service whilst doing the video call – remember you need the applicant’s permission (and a share code) to do this
These measures are temporary and once the Covid-19 crisis is over, checks will return to normal; and, for those checks made during this time, you will need to go back and check the original document. In other words you will be doing a retrospective check / confirmation:
- The retrospective check must be carried out within 8 weeks of the end of these measures
- UKVI will advise when these measures are to end
- If, at the point of the retrospective check, you find that the employee does not have permission to work, you must end employment
- If, during the crisis, you make a full right to work check – ie face to face and according to the guidance – you will already have the statutory excuse in place and a retrospective check will not be necessary.
We are here to help you, so feel free to contact us with any questions, or for help with making checks.
