Right to work in the UK

Right to work in the UK

Written by Alicia Roberton

Updated at July 27th, 2024

When do I need to carry out this check?

 

It is your statutory duty to conduct a check before you employ an individual, to confirm that they are legally allowed to do the work in question for you.

If an individual’s right to work is time-limited, you should conduct a follow-up check shortly before it is due to come to an end.

 


 

How do I carry out this check?

 

There are two ways to perform a right-to-work check: manually, or online. Both will be briefly outlined below, but we strongly urge you to follow the GOV.UK guidance here.

 


 

How to perform a manual right-to-work check:

 

  1. Obtain original versions of one or more acceptable documents.
  2. Check the document’s validity in the presence of the holder.
  3. Make and retain a clear copy, signed and dated with a clear statement confirming that the document was verified and copied on this date.

 

Simply writing a date on the copy document does not, in itself, confirm that this is the actual date when the check was undertaken. If you write a date on the copy document, you must also clearly state and record that this is the date on which you conducted the check.

 


 

How to perform an online right-to-work check:

 

Please follow the GOV.UK steps here

 

All copies of documents taken should be kept securely for the duration of the worker’s employment and for two years afterwards.

 

The copy must then be securely destroyed.

 

The above check should prove and confirm the person's eligibility to work in the UK.

 

Your checklist:

 

  1. Perform the above online or manual Right to work in the UK check for the individual
  2. Record the date you performed the check on your SCR

     

If your school deems it good practice according to your processes, our Sign In Central Record profile also provides default fields for you to input who did the check.

 

Furthermore, you can attach all evidence scans onto each staff record via the Documents tab of a staff profile. Please see our guide on Document and File Management

 

Please also refer to the full Right to Work guidance on the GOV.UK website here.