Right to Work Checks for UK Employers

Carrying out compliant right to work checks is essential for every UK employer. Failure to do so will expose your business to civil penalties and criminal prosecution. Compliance is not optional anymore. All employers have a responsibility to prevent illegal working. Employers can do this by conducting right to work check before employing someone, to make sure the individual is not disqualified from carrying out the work by reason of their immigration status.

Under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, an employer may be liable for a civil penalty if they employ someone who does not have the right to undertake the work in question if that person commenced employment. If the appropriate checks are conducted, employers would have a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty if you are found to have employed someone, who is disqualified from carrying out the work, by reason of their immigration status.

To mitigate these risks, every employer must adopt a zero-tolerance approach and ensure proper procedures are followed before and during employment.

Who is Considered an Illegal Worker?

An individual will be considered to be working illegally in the UK if they are subject to immigration control and:

• Their leave is invalid,
• Their leave has expired or ceased to have effect, or
•  They are subject to a condition that prohibits employment.

What are the sanctions against illegal working?

If you are found to be employing someone illegally and you have not carried out the prescribed checks, you may face sanctions including:

• civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker. (£45,000 for first offender)
• in serious cases, a criminal conviction carrying a prison sentence of up to five years and an unlimited fine
• closure of the business and a compliance order issued by the court
• disqualification as a director
• not being able to sponsor migrants
• seizure of earnings made as a result of illegal working
• review and possible revocation of a licence in the alcohol and late-night refreshment sector and the private hire vehicle and taxi sector
• You may also appear in the publication of non-compliant employers in Employers: illegal working penalties.

How Should Employers Establish a Statutory Excuse?

You may be protected from civil penalties if you carry out prescribed right to work checks in accordance with Home Office guidance. You must conduct one of the following checks before the employee commences employment:

• conduct a manual right to work check (all)
• conduct a right to work check using a digital verification service (British and Irish citizens only).
• conduct a Home Office online right to work check (non-British and non-Irish citizens)

The type of check you conduct will depend upon the individual’s nationality, what kind of permission they have to work in the UK and, where appropriate, the individual’s preference.

You can also use the Employer Checking Service where an individual has an outstanding application, administrative review or appeal and their digital profile is not yet enabled to evidence this, or if their immigration status requires verification by the Home Office.

When Must Right to Work Checks Be Carried Out?

All prospective employees must be subject to a right to work check before commencing employment. Depending on the individual’s immigration status, follow-up checks may also be required.

• Permanent status: A one-off check before employment begins.
• Time-limited permission: A follow-up check must be completed before expiry.

For employees who had time-limited permission, if an employee is unable to produce evidence of their ongoing permission to work during a follow-up right to work check, this does not automatically mean they are no longer permitted to work in the UK. There may be legitimate reasons, such as where the employee is covered by section 3C leave while an in-time application is pending, or where technical issues outside of the employee’s control, result in an inaccurate share code, a faulty online check result, or a temporary inability to generate a share code. In such circumstances, Angelov Solicitors can provide support by assessing whether the individual is protected by section 3C leave and liaising with the Home Office to verify their current immigration status. This ensures that employers remain compliant while avoiding unnecessary disruption to employment.

Online Right to Work Checks

A Home Office online right to work check will provide you with a statutory excuse against a civil penalty. You can do an online Right to Work check by using ‘Check a job applicant’s right to work: use their share code’ on GOV.UK.

To conduct the check:

1. Request the individual’s share code and date of birth.
2. Access the official online Right to Work checking portal
3. Confirm the photo matches the person you are employing.
4. Retain a copy of the profile page for your records (pdf/html or print).

This must be stored securely for the duration of the individual’s employment and two years afterwards.

Employers must only proceed if the online check confirms the individual has the right to work and is not restricted from the type of work offered. Proceeding otherwise may amount to a criminal offence.

How We Can Help?

We offer comprehensive compliance services for employers, including:

• Policy audits and drafting right-to-work protocols
• Designing internal HR compliance systems
• Training HR teams on identifying genuine documents and handling digital share code checks
• Ongoing monitoring & calendar-based alerts for visa expiry