Right-to-work check
is the employer’s verification that a person is legally allowed to work in the country before employment starts. The UK runs a formalised regime with civil penalties per illegal worker; EU states impose equivalent duties through permit checks, with fines and hiring bans for failures.
Running checks that actually protect you
- Check before day one: status must be verified before work starts — retro-checks provide no defence.
- Use the prescribed route: UK checks run digitally via share codes or approved IDSP identity checks; copies of the evidence must be retained.
- Diarise expiries: time-limited permissions need follow-up checks before they lapse.
- Cover the whole workforce: checks apply to everyone, uniformly — selective checking creates discrimination exposure.
For agency and EOR populations, the legal employer runs the checks — one more reason the provider’s processes matter. UK guidance: gov.uk.
FAQ
What are the penalties for getting it wrong?
In the UK, civil penalties reach tens of thousands of pounds per illegal worker, with criminal exposure for knowing employment and licence consequences for sponsors. EU states combine fines with exclusion from public contracts and, for repeat cases, criminal liability. A compliant check performed correctly gives a statutory excuse.
Who does the check when workers come through providers?
The legal employer — umbrella, payrolling provider or EOR — carries the duty, but clients share practical exposure and reputational risk, so programmes verify that providers’ check processes exist and are audited. In posting scenarios, host-country registration duties add a second layer.