In-person Right to Work checks delayed

After urgent calls to postpone the in-person Right to Work checks, the Home Office has listened to the concerns, delaying it until the government expects all Covid restrictions to be lifted.

Steve Smith, Managing Director EMEA, Sterling, commented, “We’re pleased that the Home Office has delayed the return to in-person RTW checks, however we are hopeful that some flexibility remains for the new intended rollout date. While restrictions are slowly being eased, last year showed us that things can change at a moment’s notice, and it’s crucial that in-person requirements are considered in line with the latest Covid-specific developments.

“Perhaps more importantly, though, we feel that the success of the remote Right to Work check process throughout the pandemic shouldn’t be overlooked. While we recognise that in-person checks may be necessary when the time is right, the progress that has been made through utilising technology can improve the process and better identify fraud in the future, and this opportunity shouldn’t be missed. Many companies have built digital and biometric identity checks into their screening programmes which has in turn decreased the potential of identity fraud – progress that should be built upon.”

Speaking about the government’s announcement, Tania Bowers, Legal Counsel and Head of Public Policy at APSCo, said, “We wrote to the Home Secretary in April highlighting our concerns over both the timing of the proposed return to physical checks, which at least has now been addressed, but also the fact that a return to physical checks will disproportionately disadvantage UK workers. This is because there is already an online checking service via a share code for EU nationals which can be remote and for non-EU workers through the Government Employer Checking Service. However, the Passport Office has no online service for UK nationals.

“Additionally, physical checking does not mean safer. People are not as good as technology is at spotting fraudulent documents. We had hoped that the Home Office would prioritise the expansion of digital checks – a process much more suitable for the modern world of flexible work – it also flies in the face of the Home Office’s ‘digital by design’ concept and we will continue to lobby Government for a permanent digital check which have worked so well over the last year.”

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