Digital right to work checks and digital identity certification

What are right to work checks and what is the purpose of them?

Right to work checks are checks which employers do prior to an individual commencing employment, to ensure that the prospective employee has the correct immigration status which allows them to work in the UK. 

A right to work check must be conducted on every UK-based employee. By making right to work checks a legal requirement, the UK Government aims to prevent illegal working, exploitation and other negative economic consequences. 

To read more about right to work checks, head over to our dedicated article.

What is the purpose of digital identity verification?

The use of IDSPs and IDVT will allow employers to verify the identity of their employees (who have a British or Irish Passport (Card)) remotely. Not only will this free up the time of employers who no longer have to physically examine documents, but by using IDSPs employers will be able to speed up the recruitment process which will be particularly beneficial for those organisations which run large recruitment campaigns. Likewise, the use of IDSPs and IDVT has the general benefit of providing reassurance to employers as the process is able to identify individuals who don’t have the right to work in the UK.

Right to work checks using IDVT and an IDSP

Employers who wish to use an IDSP as part of their digital right to work checks must ensure that the IDSP selected carries out the identity verification check prior to the prospective employee starting employment. 

An employer will have a statutory excuse if they can prove that they complied with all the statutory requirements when conducting a RTW check. In addition to this, in order to have a statutory excuse, employers who use an IDSP must also ensure that the IDSP has followed the required steps. If it is found that an employee is working in the UK illegally and the checks have not been made correctly, then an employer will not have a statutory excuse.

Documents required

The use of IDSPs can only be used on individuals who have one of the following:

• A valid British passport.

• A valid Irish passport.

• A valid Irish passport card.

How to conduct a digital right to work check using IDVT

An IDVT can be used to verify a British or Irish citizen who has a valid passport (or passport card if they are an Irish citizen).

Step 1: Check

You must conduct a visual check of the individual, checking that the person in front of you matches the documents provided (e.g. matches the photographs and their date of birth is consistent). This check can either be conducted in-person with the person physically in-front of you, or via live video link with the individual.

Step 2: Copy

If you are satisfied that the person presenting to you is who they say they are then you must make a copy of their documents and send them to your chosen IDVT provider. Once the documents are uploaded, the IDVT will generate a report which will either confirm or deny that the document is valid. If the report confirms that the documents provided are valid then you will have a statutory defence.

Step 3: Retain

You must retain copies of the IDVT for the length of the individual’s employment, plus an additional two years.

It is not a requirement to use an IDVT to verify the identity of British or Irish citizens and you can continue to conduct manual checks using the documents featured in List A and List B. The introduction of the IDVT system is to enable businesses to implement a more effective recruitment process.

Employers and IDSPs

When using an IDSP as part of a digital right to work check, employers are required to do the following before an employee commences work with them in order to have a statutory excuse:

• Use an IDSP to check a prospective employee’s British passport or Irish passport/card using an IDVT.

• Keep the result of the IDVT check from the IDSP. This includes a copy of the IDVT check and the document checked - these copies must be clear and legible and in a format which cannot be altered.

• Do their own due diligence to ensure that the IDSP has completed the check correctly.

• Be satisfied that the photograph and biographical details on the results of the IDVT match the prospective employee.

• If names differ on documents then the employer must find out why this is: if the employer is not satisfied with the reason then the employee should not be employed. If it is reasonably clear that the prospective employee is not linked to the identity verified by the IDVT then a statutory excuse will not be given.

• The above information must be retained securely for the duration of employment plus an additional two years after the employment has ended. After this time, the copy must be securely destroyed.