I am an employer; how must I carry out right to work checks during the coronavirus pandemic?

The Home Office has published updated guidance to temporarily adjust Right to Work (RTW) checks in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The concession permitting a right to work check using video conferencing will now end on 5 April 2022. The concession provides methods for conducting a fully compliant check without seeing your employee face-face. The use of video call to check identity and sending scanned documents rather than the originals is permitted until 5 April 2022. For anyone with a BRP or status under the EUSS, it is also possible to conduct an online RTW check through the Employer Checking Service on the Gov.uk website.

Employers will not be required to carry out a retrospective/follow-up check where a right to work check has been carried out between 30 March 2020 and 5 April 2022 (inclusive).

If you require advice or assistance in ensuring that your RTW checks are compliant, then you should seek specialist advice from Latitude Law about this.