Employers will need to offer training to staff to ensure they comply with the rules for digital right-to-work checks this spring.
From 6 April, a new permanent system for digital checks of candidates’ right to work in the UK will be introduced, allowing employers to verify candidates’ eligibility to work, via a third party, without having to check physical documents.
Recruitment bodies that campaigned for digital checks to be made permanent have said they helped organisations place workers in roles quickly and easily.
However, an update to the Home Office’s employer guidance this week suggests that organisations will have to provide training and guidance to staff involved in arranging identity and right-to-work verification.
It says this training should cover, for example, what information they must obtain from the third-party to confirm a candidate’s identity; what the information can be used for; and what other requirements they still need to fulfil to establish eligibility to work.
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Although the regime is intended to help facilitate remote working, employers will also have to confirm that the photograph provided to the identity check provider they use is a true likeness of the prospective employee. This can be face-to-face or via a video call, the guidance states.
Organisations will need to use certified identity service providers (IDSPs) to complete the digital identity verification and eligibility checks, and will be responsible for ensuring the provider meets the certification criteria which is yet to be finalised by the government.
The changes will apply for checks of British and Irish citizens’ right to work, with a separate system already in place for checking overseas’ candidates documents.
Chetal Patel, a partner at law firm Bates Wells, said employers could see their costs increase as a result of the changes.
“Whilst the digital identity verification is in keeping with a hybrid way of working and on the face of it offers a streamlined and efficient way of onboarding British and Irish citizens who hold a valid passport (including Irish passport cards), it comes at a cost,” she told Personnel Today.
“Not only are employers going to have to become familiar with the new right-to-work regulations, but they’re going to have to provide training and guidance to their staff on the types of information they need to obtain to confirm an individual’s identity. This isn’t a simple process change and could prove complex for some organisations, particularly those with less resources.”
Patel said it was vital that organisations planned ahead for the changes.
“As the responsibility for right-to-work checks remains with employers, it’s important that employers start thinking now about how their onboarding processes may need to change. I’d recommend creating some flow charts for the different types of checks that can be undertaken and for which status as this could be a helpful aide memoire to staff,” she said.
“This new digital tool won’t be helpful in all cases, for instance, where British and Irish citizens have expired passports and so employers may need to use other forms of right to work checks, such as the manual process.”
Although the IDSP will be conducting the identity check, the Home Office guidance says the responsibility for the check will remain with the employer.
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