or how to Prevent Illegal Working
The overwhelming majority of employers and migrants to the UK are law-abiding and want to comply with their legal obligations.
Since January 1997 employers have had a duty to check that all new employees are entitled to work in the United Kingdom (UK). In order to be able to defend a potential claim should you be found to have employed/appointed a worker not legally entitled to work in the UK, you will need to produce evidence of having made a minimum level of checks prior to the employee starting and annually should further checking be required.
To avoid potential discrimination claims, any checking procedures should be integrated into your recruitment practices and carried out for ALL potential workers, either as an employee or a temporary worker.
The National Insurance number notification in isolation is not proof of eligibility to work in the UK.
Who has an automatic right to work in the UK without separate registration?
Nationals of countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland can live and work in the UK without needing to apply under the UK's points-based system. Nationals of the following countries can work here without any restrictions however you should still carry out the necessary checks as detailed above:
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Nationals of Bulgaria and Romania (known as the 'A2 countries') may need to obtain an accession worker card before they can work here, and their employer may need to obtain a work permit for them.
Checking the right to work in the UK
The UK Border Agency (UKBA), the body responsible for overseeing immigration, publishes two lists - List A and List B - of documents (see page 20 for List A and page 32 for List B from following link:
which can demonstrate someone's right to work in the UK. List A documents demonstrate an ongoing right to work and List B documents demonstrate a right to work for a limited period. For you to have a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty, your prospective worker must provide you with an original version of one of the specified documents from List A, or a specified combination of two documents from List B. If the worker provides documents from List B, you must repeat the checks at least once every 12 months to retain the excuse until they provide a specified document or documents from List A, or they leave your employment.
You are not expected to be an expert on forged documents. All you need to do is conduct simple - but careful - visual checks without the need for training or technological aids, to satisfy yourself that the document(s) presented are genuine, and relate to the person presenting them. Therefore once the worker has presented you with the necessary document(s), you must:
• satisfy yourself that the document(s) are valid and genuine, and have not been tampered with
• check that any photographs and birth dates on the documents match the applicant's appearance
• check information in the job application against the documents to ensure the details match up
• check that the document(s) allow the worker to do the work on offer
There a number of security features on passports and immigration documents that can enable you to determine the validity of such documents. Photocopies should be taken of all pages with photographs, signature and Visa’s. Where you are required to make annual checks (List B documents) then photocopies of the original pages should be taken again with a signature and date of the person making the checks on the later copies.
To summarise:
Be consistent: On or before their first day at work request to see their original passport and relevant documents as indicated on the Legal Working Checklist and take copies of all the relevant pages. Copies of these documents should be kept for at least two years following termination of either their employment or working with your Company. Use a Legal Working Checklist for every new potential worker prior to them starting work; if you do not currently have this form then please contact your Employment Law Consultant.
If you are not sure whether or not a document is valid, call the UKBA Sponsorship and Employers' Helpline on Tel 0300 123 4699.