Right to Work Checks

Intro to Right to Work Checks?

Right to Work checks are a fundamental employment compliance procedure that verify whether individuals have legal permission to work in a specific country. These mandatory checks help employers avoid penalties for employing unauthorized workers while ensuring fair and legal hiring practices. As immigration and employment regulations continue to evolve globally, understanding and properly implementing Right to Work verification processes has become increasingly important for HR professionals and employers across all industries.

Definition of Right to Work Checks

Right to Work checks are a systematic process that employers conduct to verify and document an individual’s legal right to work in a specific country. These checks aim to prevent illegal employment and ensure compliance with immigration and employment laws.

The specific requirements for Right to Work checks vary by country, but they typically involve:

1. Document Verification: Examining original identity and eligibility documents (passports, visas, residence permits, birth certificates, etc.) to confirm they appear genuine and belong to the individual.
2. Record Keeping: Making and securely storing clear copies of the verified documents, recording the date of the check, and documenting who performed it.
3. Follow-up Checks: Conducting additional verification for documents with expiration dates or time-limited work permissions.

In many countries, including the UK, US, and Australia, Right to Work checks are a legal obligation for employers. Failure to conduct proper checks can result in significant civil penalties, criminal charges in severe cases, and reputational damage. The process helps protect both employers from legal consequences and workers from exploitation.

It’s important to note that Right to Work checks must be conducted in a non-discriminatory manner, applying the same verification process to all potential employees regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or appearance. In many jurisdictions, selective checking based on perceived nationality or origin can itself constitute illegal discrimination.

Importance of Right to Work Checks in HR

Right to Work checks serve multiple critical functions in HR operations and compliance:

Legal Compliance and Risk Management: Conducting proper Right to Work checks helps organizations avoid severe penalties for employing unauthorized workers. In the UK, for example, employers can face civil penalties of up to £20,000 per illegal worker, while in the US, fines can range from $573 to $22,927 per violation. Beyond financial penalties, companies may face business license restrictions, reputational damage, and even criminal charges for knowingly employing unauthorized workers.

Protection Against Discrimination Claims: By implementing consistent Right to Work verification processes for all candidates regardless of nationality or background, HR departments protect the organization against discrimination claims. Selective checking based on appearance, accent, or name can violate equal opportunity laws in many jurisdictions.

Workforce Planning and Global Mobility: Understanding various work authorization types and their limitations helps HR teams make informed decisions about talent acquisition, project assignments, and workforce planning. This is especially important for organizations operating internationally or in sectors with skills shortages requiring global recruitment.

Onboarding Efficiency: Integrating Right to Work checks into structured onboarding processes ensures new hires can legally begin work without delays. Clear procedures help manage candidate and hiring manager expectations, particularly when dealing with time-limited permits or visas that may require additional processing time.

Compliance with Evolving Regulations: Immigration and employment laws frequently change, as seen in examples like Brexit’s impact on EU workers in the UK or labour laws in Australia. HR departments must stay current with these changes and adapt verification processes accordingly to maintain compliance.

Data Protection Compliance: Right to Work documentation contains sensitive personal information subject to data protection regulations. HR must implement appropriate security measures, retention policies, and access controls to protect this information while maintaining sufficient records for compliance purposes.

Examples of Right to Work Checks

Here are three practical examples illustrating how Right to Work checks are conducted in different scenarios:

Example 1: Manual Check for a UK Domestic Employee
A small accounting firm in London is hiring a British citizen as an administrative assistant. The HR manager follows the UK government’s three-step process for Right to Work verification:

1. Obtain: The candidate presents their British passport in person during their final interview.
2. Check: The HR manager examines the passport, verifying the photograph matches the candidate, checking for signs of tampering or alteration, and confirming the document is valid and current.
3. Copy: The HR manager makes a color photocopy of the passport’s biographical page, records the date of the check, and signs the copy to certify they’ve seen the original document.

The HR manager informs the candidate that their Right to Work has been verified and completes the hiring process. The copy is stored securely in the employee’s personnel file, with appropriate access restrictions to comply with GDPR requirements. This approach represents the traditional in-person verification method that remains valid in many countries.

Example 2: Digital Check for a Foreign Worker with Time-Limited Permission
A technology company in the US is hiring a software developer from India on an H-1B visa. The HR specialist conducts a digital Right to Work check:

1. The candidate completes Section 1 of Form I-9 electronically through the company’s onboarding portal prior to their start date.
2. On the employee’s first day, the HR specialist conducts a video call where the new hire presents their H-1B visa and foreign passport.
3. The HR specialist compares the documents to the person on video, verifies the visa validity dates, and completes Section 2 of Form I-9 electronically.
4. The system automatically flags the visa expiration date, setting up reminders for reverification before the document expires.
5. The company also runs the employee’s information through E-Verify, receiving confirmation of work authorization from government databases.

The HR specialist explains the visa conditions and work restrictions to the employee and notes in the HR system that follow-up verification will be required before the visa expires. This example demonstrates how digital tools can streamline the verification process while maintaining compliance with work permit and visa in USA requirements.

Example 3: Right to Work Check for a Remote Worker in a Different Country
A multinational marketing agency wants to hire a designer who will work remotely from Australia while the company is based in the UK. The HR team follows these steps:

1. The HR team determines that since the employee will be working in Australia (not the UK), they need to comply with Australian employment laws rather than UK Right to Work requirements.
2. The company decides to use an Employer of Record (EOR) service in Australia to handle local compliance, including work authorization verification.
3. The EOR partner requests and verifies the candidate’s Australian citizenship certificate and driver’s license, confirming their unrestricted right to work in Australia.
4. The EOR handles the documentation and record-keeping requirements according to Australian regulations, providing confirmation to the UK company that the worker is legally authorized.
5. The HR team maintains records of the EOR agreement and confirmation of completed work authorization checks.

This example illustrates how companies managing international remote workers must consider the local employment laws of the worker’s location, often requiring specialized support to ensure proper verification and compliance.

How HRMS platforms like Asanify support Right to Work Checks

Modern HRMS platforms like Asanify provide comprehensive tools to streamline and enhance the Right to Work verification process:

Digital Document Collection and Verification: HRMS platforms offer secure portals where candidates can upload identity and eligibility documents before their start date. These systems often include built-in verification features that check document formats, expiration dates, and completeness, flagging potential issues for HR review.

Integration with Government Verification Systems: Advanced HRMS solutions can integrate with official verification systems like E-Verify in the US, the Home Office online checking service in the UK, or similar platforms in other countries. These integrations allow for real-time verification against government databases, reducing the risk of accepting fraudulent documents.

Automated Compliance Workflows: HRMS platforms implement structured workflows that guide HR professionals through jurisdiction-specific verification steps, ensuring all required checks are completed consistently. These workflows adapt to different document types and work authorization categories, providing appropriate guidance for each scenario.

Document Storage and Retention Management: These systems provide secure, compliant storage for Right to Work documentation with appropriate encryption and access controls. They can automatically manage retention periods, archiving or deleting documents according to regulatory requirements while maintaining sufficient records for compliance purposes.

Expiration Tracking and Reverification Alerts: HRMS platforms monitor expiration dates for time-limited work authorizations and automatically generate alerts before documents expire. This proactive approach helps employers maintain continuous compliance, especially when managing employees with visas or temporary permits.

Multi-jurisdiction Compliance Support: For organizations operating across multiple countries, HRMS systems can manage different Right to Work requirements by location. They maintain updated templates and checklists based on local regulations, helping HR teams apply the correct verification standards for each employee’s work location.

Audit Trails and Compliance Reporting: HRMS platforms maintain comprehensive audit trails documenting who performed each verification step, when it occurred, and what was verified. These detailed records provide evidence of compliance during government audits or inspections and help identify process improvement opportunities.

FAQs about Right to Work Checks

When should Right to Work checks be conducted?

Right to Work checks should be conducted before an individual begins employment—typically after a job offer has been made but before the actual start date. This timing ensures legal compliance while avoiding discrimination concerns that could arise from checking only certain candidates during the selection process. In most jurisdictions, employers cannot allow work to commence until verification is complete. For workers with time-limited authorization, follow-up checks must be conducted before their current permission expires. Some countries permit temporary arrangements under specific circumstances—for example, the UK allows a 28-day grace period for follow-up checks in certain situations, while the US requires completion of Form I-9 within three business days of employment start. Emergency provisions were implemented in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing temporary remote verification, but most have now reverted to standard requirements with some digital options remaining available.

What documents are acceptable for Right to Work checks?

Acceptable documents vary by country but typically fall into categories that establish both identity and work authorization. In the UK, documents are organized in two lists: List A (documents showing permanent right to work) includes British passports, EU settled status confirmation, and birth certificates with additional identity documents. List B (time-limited permission) includes current visas, Biometric Residence Permits, and Home Office verification letters. In the US, acceptable documents are categorized into List A (combined identity and employment authorization), List B (identity only), and List C (employment authorization only). Employers must examine either one List A document or a combination of one List B and one List C document. All documents must be unexpired originals (except for certain certified copies of birth certificates). Employers cannot specify which documents an employee must present from these lists, as long as they satisfy the requirements—requiring specific documents from eligible workers could constitute discrimination.

How has technology changed the Right to Work verification process?

Technology has transformed Right to Work verification through several innovations: Digital verification platforms now allow employers to validate documents against government databases in real-time, reducing reliance on visual inspection. Identity verification technologies using biometrics and document chip reading can authenticate identity documents more accurately than manual inspection. Cloud-based storage systems ensure secure, compliant document retention with appropriate access controls. Automated expiration tracking systems proactively alert HR to approaching deadlines for re-verification. Many countries have introduced official digital verification options—the UK offers an online checking service for certain visa holders, while the US has the E-Verify system to complement Form I-9 requirements. COVID-19 accelerated digital adoption, with many jurisdictions implementing temporary remote verification options, some of which have been retained. These technological advances have improved accuracy while reducing administrative burden, though they require careful implementation to maintain compliance and avoid privacy concerns.

What are the consequences of failing to conduct proper Right to Work checks?

The consequences of improper Right to Work verification can be severe and multifaceted. Financial penalties vary by jurisdiction but are typically substantial—in the UK, employers face civil penalties up to £20,000 per illegal worker, while US employers can face fines ranging from $573 to $22,927 per violation, with repeat offenders facing higher penalties. Criminal prosecution is possible in cases of knowingly employing unauthorized workers, potentially resulting in imprisonment for responsible individuals. Business operations can be disrupted through license suspensions, restrictions on government contracts, or even forced closure in severe cases. Reputational damage often extends beyond regulatory penalties, affecting customer relationships, brand perception, and ability to attract talent. Employment relationships may be invalidated, creating additional legal complications regarding termination and compensation. While some jurisdictions offer statutory excuses or good faith defenses for employers who can demonstrate they conducted proper verification processes, these protections only apply when checks follow prescribed procedures and are properly documented.

How do Right to Work requirements differ internationally?

Right to Work verification varies significantly across countries, reflecting different immigration policies and employment regulations. In the UK, the system centers on document checks against prescribed lists, with an increasing shift toward digital verification through the Home Office online system. The US requires completion of Form I-9 for all employees, with optional use of the E-Verify system, which is mandatory for federal contractors. Australia implements checks through the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system for non-citizens, while citizens can present various identity documents. Canada requires Social Insurance Number verification along with work permit checks for temporary foreign workers. EU countries vary in implementation details despite shared freedom of movement principles for EU citizens, with each country maintaining different requirements for non-EU nationals. Digital verification adoption varies widely—some countries have fully embraced online systems, while others still rely primarily on physical document inspection. Penalties and enforcement intensity also differ significantly, with some jurisdictions focusing on education and compliance assistance while others emphasize aggressive enforcement with substantial penalties.