Right to Work Checks for new EU employees

The UK Home Office has produced guidance and a checklist to help employers with the new ‘right to work check’ process which began on 1 July 2021.

Employers are no longer able to accept EU passports or ID cards as valid proof of right to work for new staff, with the exception of Irish citizens.

Instead, you should conduct an online check for job applicants that hold digital proof of their immigration status in the UK, known as an eVisa. This applies to most EU citizens, including those with settled or pre-settled status, those with a Hong Kong BNO visa and some other nationalities who have moved to the UK more recently under the points-based immigration system.

A manual check can be completed for UK and Irish nationals who can use their passport, or other identity document, as proof of their right to work. You will also need to complete a manual check for individuals in the UK who cannot prove their immigration status online.

It is important to note you do not need to retrospectively check the status of any EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens you employed before 1 July 2021.

Click here to visit the gov.uk website with more information and guidance.

Our Brexit Hub can help you further with questions around recruiting from outside the UK, new importing and exporting rules, and much more.