It is illegal to employ someone that does not have the right to work in the th UK, under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. New sanctions have been introduced with the Immigration Act 2016. If an employer employs someone they know or have reasonable cause to believe is working illegally, the employer can face a custodial sentence of up to 5 years or an unlimited fine..
Do not rely on race, ethnicity, accent or appearance to determine whether you should complete checks. To avoid breaching the Equality Act 2010, there must be a consistent approach across the board.
In the United Kingdom all employers are required by law to check their employees have the right to work in the UK. The British government website states that "You must check that a job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK before you employ them."
A complete guide to the combination of documents accepted as right-to-work documents and how to check them can be found on the .gov website. The correct document combinations depend on the potential employee themselves, but include these documents:
• Passport
• Biometric Residence Permit
• National Identity Card
• Full Birth Certificate
• Certificate of Naturalisation
• Passport with valid Visa inside
'As the Acceptable right to work documents document states it is the employer's responsibility to check the validity of the documents presented and "you must be in the physical possession of the original document or documents"
Find out if a potential employee has the right to work in the UK and what documents employers should check.
https://www.gov.uk/legal-right-work-uk
There will be no change to the rights and status of EU nationals living in the UK, nor UK nationals living in the EU, while the UK remains in the EU.
Gov.uk has plenty of information, links and a checklist that explains the types of documents that are acceptable for checking an employee's right to work and how long the check is valid for.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checklist
You may need to ask the Home Office to check an employee's or potential employee's immigration status if:
• they can't show you their documents, eg they have an outstanding appeal or application with the Home Office
• they have an Application Registration Card
• they have a Certificate of Application
You should see if they can work legally in the UK before asking for a check.
