How to check if someone has the right to work in the UK?

Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 it is a criminal offence for an employer to employ a person who is subject to immigration control and does not have the right to work in the UK. Employers who negligently hire illegal workers could face a maximum fine of £10,000 for each illegal worker found at the business.

The easiest way to ensure that you are recruiting individuals who have the right to work in the UK is to make your offer of employment subject to original documents being produced to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK. Once these documents have been produced and you are satisfied that the individual has the right to work in the UK then a copy of the document should be kept securely in their personal file. However, just because a person is not able to produce the appropriate listed document(s), it is not safe to assume that he or she is living or working in the UK illegally. He or she should be referred to the UK Border Agency and it is at the employers discretion if they would like to hold the vacancy whilst this process takes its course.

In order to avoid unlawful discrimination in recruitment practice, you should not make assumptions about a person's right to work or immigration status on the basis of their colour, race, nationality, or ethnic or national origins, or the length of time they have been resident in the UK and therefore all employees are required to prove their eligibility to work in the UK.

Documents which are accepted to ensure eligibility to work in the UK fall into two categories - List A which provides ongoing eligibility to work in the UK and List B which provides limited eligibility to work in the UK for up to 12 months. You can download these lists from our website www.hjspeople.co.uk