Right to Work Checks in the UK: What Employers Need to Know

Hiring your first team member (or your fiftieth) is a big moment. But before anyone starts work, there’s a compliance step you can’t afford to skip: carrying out right to work checks.

Done properly, right to work checks help you prevent illegal working, protect your business from civil penalties, and show you’ve taken your legal obligations seriously. Done poorly (or not at all), they can lead to fines, disruption, and awkward conversations at the worst possible time - like during a Home Office compliance visit.

This guide breaks down what UK employers and startups need to know about right to work checks in plain English, including practical steps, common pitfalls, and how to build a simple process you can repeat every time you hire.

What Are Right To Work Checks (And Why Do They Matter For Small Businesses)?

Right to work checks are the steps you take as an employer to confirm that someone you’re employing has the legal right to do the work you’re offering in the UK.

In practice, that means checking specific documents (or using an online system where required), confirming the documents belong to the person, and keeping the right records.

For small businesses and startups, this matters because:

• You’re moving fast - you might be hiring quickly to meet demand, and compliance can slip if you don’t have a process.
• Your risk tolerance is lower - a large fine (or the time spent dealing with an investigation) can hit a small team much harder.
• You need repeatable onboarding - as you grow, a clear hiring checklist becomes essential.

Right to work checks also sit alongside other key hiring foundations. For example, it’s often a good time to ensure you’re issuing a proper Employment Contract and setting expectations around workplace behaviour and systems via a Staff Handbook.

When Do You Need To Carry Out Right To Work Checks?

Timing is one of the most common places businesses slip up. To be effective, your right to work checks must be done:

• Before employment starts (i.e., before the person begins any work for you).
• Before the first shift for casual workers, hospitality staff, retail hires, and contractors you’re treating as workers/employees.
• Before work begins even if they’re “just training” - trial shifts and inductions can still count as work.

If the person has time-limited permission to work in the UK, you’ll also need to do a follow-up check at the appropriate time (more on that below).

Practical tip: build right to work checks into your hiring workflow as a non-negotiable step, like collecting bank details or signing your employment documents. If your onboarding is digital, consider also lining up your internal policies (for example, an Acceptable Use Policy if staff use company devices or systems).

How To Do Right To Work Checks: A Step-By-Step Process

There isn’t just “one” way to complete right to work checks, because the correct method depends on the worker’s immigration status and the documents they hold.

That said, a strong employer process usually looks like this:

Step 1: Decide Which Check Type Applies (Manual, Online, Or Other Permitted Route)

Broadly, right to work checks are carried out via:

• Manual document checks (checking original documents in the prescribed way).
• Online right to work checks (where the individual proves their status through the Home Office online service, using a share code) - this is mandatory for many people with an eVisa/digital immigration status.
• Identity Service Provider (IDSP) checks (a certified provider can carry out a digital identity check for British and Irish passport holders).

The key is that you use a method that’s recognised and appropriate for the person’s status. If you pick the wrong method, you may not get the protection you’re expecting.

Step 2: Check The Documents (Or Online Status) In The Presence Of The Individual

The core idea of right to work checks is not just “collect a copy of a passport”. You need to take reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that:

• the documents/status are genuine and haven’t been tampered with;
• the documents/status belong to the person presenting them (photo/biographical details match);
• the person is allowed to do the type of work you’re offering (including any restrictions on hours, role type, or dates).

If you’re doing a manual check, that means physically inspecting the original documents in the presence of the individual, or (where the Home Office permits) conducting a live video call while you view the original documents and keep clear copies. If you’re doing an online check, that means viewing the Home Office profile page (using the person’s share code) and confirming it matches the individual.

Startups hiring remotely: if your team is distributed, don’t “wing it” with screenshots and assumptions. Decide on a consistent approach and train whoever is responsible for onboarding.

Step 3: Make And Keep Clear Records

Record keeping is what turns a check into evidence of compliance.

As a general rule, you should keep:

• a clear copy of the document(s) checked (for manual checks), or the online profile page confirming the individual’s status (for online checks);
• the date you carried out the check;
• notes of any follow-up check date needed (if the right to work is time-limited).

Keep the records in a secure HR file (not in an open shared drive that the whole company can access). These records contain personal data, and you’ll need to think about UK GDPR compliance, including who has access, how long you keep it, and how you dispose of it safely.

Many employers handle this as part of a wider data protection approach, supported by a fit-for-purpose Privacy Policy (particularly where the business is collecting HR and candidate data systematically).

Step 4: Schedule Follow-Up Checks Where Required

Not all employees need follow-up right to work checks. If the person has an ongoing right to work, a follow-up may not be required.

But where the individual has time-limited permission to work, a follow-up check is essential.

From a practical perspective, set reminders well in advance. You don’t want to be scrambling a week before a permission expires, especially if you need the worker to provide updated evidence.

Good practice: build a simple tracker (even a spreadsheet is fine) listing:

• employee name;
• right to work check date;
• type of check;
• expiry date (if any);
• follow-up check due date;
• who owns the task internally.

Common Right To Work Check Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

Right to work checks often go wrong in predictable ways - especially for small teams where hiring is handled by a founder or a busy manager.

Mistake 1: Doing The Check After The Person Starts

This is one of the biggest pitfalls. If the person has already started work and you then discover an issue, you’ve created an avoidable compliance risk.

Fix: make “right to work check completed” a mandatory condition before any start date or rota allocation.

Mistake 2: Accepting A Copy Without Proper Verification

It’s tempting to accept a photo or scan and move on. But right to work checks are about you taking reasonable steps to verify identity and status.

Fix: follow a consistent process, and if anything looks unclear, pause and seek advice before proceeding.

Mistake 3: Discrimination Risks During Hiring

This is a delicate area. You must conduct right to work checks, but you also need to avoid discriminatory practices (for example, only asking non-UK sounding applicants for documents).

Fix: apply the same right to work checks process to all new hires, regardless of nationality or background, and keep your communications consistent.

Mistake 4: Not Keeping The Right Records

Even if you did the check correctly, poor record keeping can cause trouble later because you can’t prove what you did or when you did it.

Fix: standardise your internal onboarding file requirements and keep everything in one secure place.

Mistake 5: Keeping Documents Forever (Or Not Protecting Them Properly)

Right to work documents contain sensitive personal information. Holding them indefinitely, or storing them in insecure systems, can create data protection risks.

Fix: set a clear retention rule and store documents securely. A common approach is to keep right to work check records for the duration of employment plus 2 years, then dispose of them safely (unless you have a lawful reason to keep them for longer).

How To Build Right To Work Checks Into Your Hiring Process (Without Slowing Down Growth)

When you’re building a startup or running a small business, the goal isn’t to create red tape - it’s to build a workflow that protects you while still letting you hire quickly.

Here’s a practical way to embed right to work checks into your process:

1) Put Right To Work Checks In Your Offer And Onboarding Checklist

You can keep the messaging simple and neutral, for example:

• “Your offer is conditional on satisfactory right to work checks.”
• “Please bring / provide the required right to work evidence before your start date.”

This pairs naturally with your other onboarding actions, including signing employment paperwork and acknowledging policies.

2) Assign One Owner Internally

If “everyone” can do right to work checks, often no one does them properly.

Decide who is responsible (founder, ops lead, office manager, HR consultant), and make sure they know the process and where records are stored.

3) Standardise Your Templates And Signing Process

Right to work checks often sit alongside signing contracts, policy acknowledgements, and onboarding forms.

Make sure your signature process is valid and consistent, especially if you’re onboarding remotely and relying on electronic signing. Having a clear understanding of legal signature requirements can help you avoid arguments later about whether documents were properly executed.

4) Train Managers Who Hire (Even Briefly)

In many small businesses, the person doing interviews is not the person doing admin. But managers and team leads can still create risk if they let someone “start early” informally.

A short internal training note can prevent problems, for example:

• no one starts work until right to work checks are done;
• all checks must be recorded;
• questions about immigration status should be handled consistently and carefully;
• escalate uncertainties rather than guessing.

5) Treat It As Part Of Your Broader Employment Compliance

Right to work checks are one piece of employing people in the UK. As you grow, you’ll also want to get on top of:

• clear contracts and job terms;
• workplace policies (IT, confidentiality, behaviour, leave);
• data protection in HR;
• fair processes for performance and conduct issues.

Getting those foundations right early makes scaling smoother - and means you’re less likely to be firefighting later.

Key Takeaways

• Right to work checks must be completed before the employee starts work, and you should treat this as a non-negotiable onboarding step.
• The correct method (manual, online, or via a certified IDSP for eligible British/Irish passport holders) depends on the individual’s status - and for many people with an eVisa, an online check is required.
• Always keep clear records of what you checked and when you checked it, and store those records securely as part of your UK GDPR compliance.
• If a worker has time-limited permission to work, you’ll need a reliable system to diarise and complete follow-up checks on time.
• Apply the same checking process to all new hires to reduce the risk of inconsistent treatment and discrimination issues.
• Build right to work checks into your wider hiring and employment setup (contracts, policies, signing processes) so you can grow without slowing down.

If you’d like help setting up a compliant hiring process, updating your employment documents, or stress-testing your onboarding workflow, you can reach us at 08081347754 or team@sprintlaw.co.uk for a free, no-obligations chat.