Right to work checks: the UK employer guide.
Every UK employer must check that a person can work here before they start. How the three check routes work, what changed in October 2026, and what to keep.
How does a right to work check work for an employer?
Before someone starts work, you check their right to work using one of three Home Office routes: a manual check of original documents, an online check using the person's share code, or a check through a certified digital verification service provider for British and Irish passports. You keep dated evidence. Done correctly, it gives you a statutory excuse against a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
What is a right to work check, and who must do one?
A right to work check confirms that a person is allowed to work in the UK, and in the role you are offering, before they start. It applies to every hire of every nationality, British citizens included. The Home Office sets the rules in its employer's guide to right to work checks, published on GOV.UK.
Doing the check the prescribed way, before work starts, gives you a statutory excuse: protection from a civil penalty if the person later turns out not to have the right to work. Done late, done the wrong way, or not recorded, it gives you nothing.
What changed on 1 October 2026
The Home Office expanded the Right to Work Scheme from 1 October 2026. It now reaches beyond traditional employees to arrangements such as workers' contracts, individual subcontractors and certain online matching services in the gig economy. For those arrangements, civil penalties apply where the work started on or after 1 October 2026, and the Home Office says there is no general grace period. If you engage people other than employees, read the current guide on GOV.UK and check which of your arrangements are in scope.
Penalties for illegal working
If you employ someone without the right to work and have not done the prescribed checks, the Home Office guide lists sanctions including a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, and in serious cases a criminal conviction with up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine. Business closure, director disqualification and losing the ability to sponsor workers are also possible.
How to check right to work: three routes.
Manual document check
See the original documents from the Home Office acceptable lists with the holder present, check they are genuine and belong to them, and keep dated copies.
Home Office online check
For people whose status is digital, such as eVisa holders. They give you a share code, you enter it with their date of birth on GOV.UK and check the photo matches.
Digital verification provider
For British and Irish passports and passport cards, a certified right to work digital verification service provider can check identity and the document remotely.
Keep the evidence
Whichever route you use, keep a clear, dated record of the check for the whole employment and for two years after it ends.
Each route in practice
Checking right to work with a share code
Most people with UK immigration status now hold it digitally, and the online check is the route for them. The person signs in to the Home Office online service and chooses the option to prove their right to work to an employer. That creates a 9-character share code beginning with W. Codes beginning with R or S are for other services and you cannot accept them.
You enter the share code and the person's date of birth into the employer service, "Check a job applicant's right to work: use their share code". The result shows their photo, their right to work and any conditions or end date. Check the photo matches the person in front of you or on the video call, then keep the result page. Share codes are valid for 90 days from issue and can be used as many times as needed within that time for the purpose they were created for.
Manual checks: what original documents means
A manual check works with original documents from the current acceptable lists, checked while the holder is present (in person or on a live video call with the originals in your hands). A photo or scan sent by the candidate is not a check. Check that photos and dates of birth are consistent, that the document is valid, and note any work restrictions, such as limited hours for students. Copy the document, record the date, and file it securely.
The acceptable lists come in two parts. List A documents, such as a British passport (current or expired), give you a continuous statutory excuse. List B documents show time-limited permission, so your excuse is time-limited too and you need a follow-up check before it runs out.
Digital checks through a certified provider
Employers can use a right to work digital verification service provider (RtW DVSP) certified under the UK digital verification services trust framework to check British and Irish passports and passport cards remotely. Some providers can also verify recently expired passports using the chip. You remain responsible for the check, so make sure the result matches the person you employ and keep the evidence the provider gives you. If a candidate does not want a digital check, offer a manual one instead and do not treat them less favourably.
The mistakes that cost employers.
They are rarely exotic. Each one leaves you with no statutory excuse.
Checking after day one
The check must be done before work starts. A check during induction week is too late.
Accepting a photo or scan
A picture of a passport sent by text or email is not a manual check.
Using the wrong route
If someone's status is digital, a manual check of an old document does not establish an excuse.
Missing a follow-up
Time-limited permission means a time-limited excuse. Diarise the end date when you hire.
No dated evidence
A check you cannot prove did not happen. Keep the copy or result page with the date.
Checking some people, not all
Checking just the people you assume are from overseas is discriminatory. Check everyone the same way.
Record keeping, fairness and follow-up checks
How long to keep right to work records
The Home Office guide says to keep a copy of the check, whether document copies, the online result or the provider's output, for the duration of the employment and for two years afterwards, then destroy it securely. Store it in line with UK GDPR, with access limited to the people who need it.
Follow-up checks
Where the check shows time-limited permission, carry out a follow-up check before that permission ends. If the person has made an in-time application to extend their stay, the Home Office Employer Checking Service can confirm their position. Set reminders the day they start.
Avoiding discrimination
The Home Office code of practice on avoiding unlawful discrimination says to be consistent: check everyone, including British citizens, in the same way and at the same stage. Do not make assumptions based on name, accent, nationality or appearance. A simple rule keeps it fair: nobody starts until their right to work is checked through the right route.
Where right to work sits in onboarding
Right to work confirms legal status. It says nothing about whether someone is honest about their history or right for the job. That is the job of references. In regulated sectors there is more to do: care providers evidence right to work, references and DBS under Schedule 3, schools follow KCSIE, and the NHS uses its Employment Check Standards. Our pre-employment checks guide and new starter checklist bring the full set together.
Right to work on GOV.UK. References here.
RefAssure does not do right to work checks, and nobody needs to charge you for the GOV.UK service. We make the reference half as quick and well evidenced.
- Candidate consent collected online, with signature, before referees are contacted
- 5 emails and up to 2 texts over 12 days, stopping when the referee replies
- Half of references completed within 24 hours
- Signed PDF with a full audit trail, filed next to your right to work evidence
Right to work questions
More in the full FAQs.
Do I need to check the right to work of British citizens?
Yes. The check applies to everyone you employ, whatever their nationality. British citizens can show a British passport (current or expired) for a manual check, or use a certified digital verification provider.
How long is a right to work share code valid?
The Home Office guide says share codes are valid for 90 days from issue and can be used as many times as needed in that period for the purpose they were created for. Right to work codes start with W.
What is the penalty for not doing a right to work check?
If you employ someone without the right to work and have not done the prescribed checks, you can face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker. Knowingly employing an illegal worker is a criminal offence.
Can I do a right to work check after someone starts?
You can, but it will not give you a statutory excuse for the period before the check. Always complete it before the first day of work.
Is a driving licence or National Insurance number proof of right to work?
No. Neither is on the acceptable lists on its own. Use one of the three prescribed routes.
Do the October 2026 changes affect agencies and gig platforms?
They can. The scheme now covers arrangements such as workers' contracts, individual subcontractors and certain online matching services, and there are new rules on extended liability. Check the Home Office guide for your model. Agencies can read more in temp agency compliance.
Does RefAssure do right to work checks?
No. Right to work checks are done through the Home Office routes above. RefAssure collects references and employment history, with your first reference free and credits from 80p after that. See pricing.
Related guides
Right to work: GOV.UK. References: sorted here.
Your first reference is free. Consent, chasing and a signed PDF, done before day one.