As a business owner, you have a legal requirement to carry out a Right to Work check (RTW) on all new employees to verify that their immigration status entitles them to work in the UK.
Although this can seem daunting if you understand and follow the process correctly and also keep accurate records, RTW checks are quick and easy to do. One question we regularly get asked is what are Right to Work documents?
Right to Work documents are proof of a person's eligibility to work in the UK. These documents are approved by the Home Office - which employers can use to verify a person’s immigration status if they are doing a manual RTW check. If you are checking a person’s RTW in the UK online, you will not need to check any of the approved documents.
Instead, the prospective employee will provide you with a share code.
What is a Right to Work share code?
Migrant workers can prove their RTW in the UK by sharing with you a Right to Work share code, made up of nine alphanumeric characters. To create a share code a migrant worker will need their:
- Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) number
- Biometric Residence Card (BRC) number
- Passport or National Identity card
Once the migrant worker receives their share code it will be valid for 30 days.
What are relevant Right to Work documents?
If you are doing a manual Right to Work check, the Home Office has supplied a list of approved documents that show the employee has the legal RTW in the UK. The approved documents are divided into:
- List A - acceptable documents to establish a continuous statutory excuse
- List B Group 1 – documents where a time-limited statutory excuse lasts until the expiry date of permission to enter or permission to stay
- List B Group 2 – documents where a time-limited statutory excuse lasts for six months
List A includes (but is not limited to):
- A current or expired passport showing the employee is a British citizen or a citizen of the UK and Colonies having the right of abode in the UK
- A current or expired passport showing the employee is an Irish citizen
- A current passport endorsed to show that the holder has Indefinite Leave to Remain, has the right of abode in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK
List B Group 1 includes (but is not limited to):
- A current passport endorsed to show that the holder is allowed to stay in the UK and is currently allowed to do the type of work you are recruiting them for
- A current Immigration Status Document containing a photograph issued by the Home Office to the holder with a valid endorsement indicating that the named person may stay in the UK and is allowed to do the type of work you are recruiting them for, together with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a government agency or a previous employer
List B Group 2 includes (but is not limited to):
- A document issued by the Home Office showing that the holder has made an application for leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU to the immigration rules (known as the EU Settlement Scheme) on or before 30 June 2021 together with a Positive Verification Notice from the Home Office Employer Checking Service
- An Application Registration Card issued by the Home Office stating that the holder is permitted to take the employment in question, together with a Positive Verification Notice from the Home Office Employer Checking Service
Get legal assistance from LawBite
If you are doing a manual RTW check, you need to make sure the documents you are checking are on the approved list. If you require any assistance with identifying these documents or need support with the process, please contact our expert team of employment lawyers. Just click ‘Get started’ below for a free 15 minute consultation.
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