Right to work in the UK

Blog April 2021

Last year the government put in place temporary changes for checking a person’s eligibility to work in the UK during the pandemic, to allow for checks to be carried out over video calls and for new starters or existing workers to send a scanned copy or photo of their documents rather than the employer needing to see the originals.

The government has updated their guidance which states that these temporary measures will remain in place until 16^th May 2021, and therefore from 17^th May 2021 you must either check the employee’s original documents or check their right to work online (if they have provided you with their share code).

The government has also stated that employers do not need to carry out retrospective checks on those who had an adjusted check between 30^th March 2020 and 16^th May 2021 due to COVID-19, providing that the check undertaken was done so in the prescribed manner and in accordance with the guidance.

Full guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-right-to-work-checks. 

Full guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-right-to-work-checks.