Changes to Right to Work checks April 2022

The Government has announced some changes to the Right to Work guidance checks from 6 April 2022 that must be completed when an individual is offered a job role and prior to them starting if they hold a biometric residence card (BRC), biometric residence permit (BRP) or frontier worker permit (FWP).

The changes are:

• From 6 April 2022 if a potential employee has a Biometric Residence Card (BRC), a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or a Frontier Worker Permit (FWP) then they can no longer be checked in person and employers must use the online service to confirm the worker’s legal right to work in the UK. Where a check was carried out using a physical biometric card on or before 5 April 2022, the check will continue to be valid, and a further check will not be required as long as the check was carried out correctly and in line with current guidance.

You will need the individuals date of birth, and share code that they have generated through the online system for individuals

When must the right to work check be carried out?

Prior to the first date of employment

Are there any other changes we should be aware of?

The end date for temporary adjusted checks has now been changed to 30 September 2022.  These adjusted checks which were originally as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic are:

• checks can currently be carried out over video calls
• job applicants and existing workers can send scanned documents or a photo of documents for checks using email or a mobile app, rather than sending originals
• employers should use the Home Office Employer Checking Service if a prospective or existing employee cannot provide any of the accepted documents

There are also changes expected which will mean that employers can use an online service to make checks for individual who they wish to employ who are British or Irish Citizens who hold a valid passport (as can currently be done for EU, EEA and Swiss Citizens).  This is one reason the adjusted checks have been extended.  The intention is that these checks will be carried out on behalf of an employer by a certified digital identity service provider on their behalf, cost of this is currently unknown.  More guidance will be provided on this once more is known.