Right to Work checks are one of the few HR tasks where a small process gap can turn into a five-figure civil penalty. The rules aren't complicated, but they are exact — and 'we thought someone else did it' is not a defence. Here's a clear, practical walkthrough for teams doing checks in-house.
This is a general guide to help HR teams follow Home Office guidance. It's a record-keeping aid, not legal advice — for edge cases, take professional advice.
The three types of check
- Manual check — inspect original documents in the person's physical presence, then copy and date them.
- Digital identity check (IDVT) — use a certified Identity Service Provider for holders of valid UK passports.
- Home Office online check — verify a share code via the 'View a job applicant's right to work' service for those with an eVisa or digital status.
A fourth route, the Employer Checking Service, applies when someone can't show acceptable documents but you have reasonable grounds to believe they have the right to work — for example while an application is outstanding.
Getting the statutory excuse
A compliant check gives you a 'statutory excuse' against a civil penalty. To establish it, you must do three things before employment starts, and repeat the check before any time-limited permission expires.
- Obtain the person's original documents (or a valid share code / IDVT result).
- Check validity in their presence — that the document is genuine, the photo matches, and the work is permitted.
- Make a clear, dated copy and store it securely for the duration of employment plus two years.
The record is the point. A check you did but can't evidence is, for compliance purposes, a check you didn't do.
Follow-ups: the step most teams miss
Where someone's right to work is time-limited, the statutory excuse only lasts until it expires. The most common failure isn't a bad initial check — it's forgetting the repeat check. You need a reliable way to see what's expiring before it lapses, not after.
Bloome's Right to Work feature records each check against the employee, walks you through a compliance checklist aligned to Home Office guidance, generates the statutory record you must retain, and surfaces anything expiring within 60 days on your dashboard — so a follow-up is scheduled while there's still time to act.
A simple internal standard
- Every new hire has a completed RTW record before their first day.
- Every time-limited permission has a follow-up date set at the point of the first check.
- Every check has a dated copy stored securely and a written compliance record.
- One person owns the expiry list and reviews it every month.
Do those four things consistently and Right to Work stops being a source of anxiety. It becomes a routine your team can evidence on demand.
See how Bloome puts this into practice.
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