The government has had to make a considerable number of changes to legislation since the outbreak of the coronavirus. In addition to making sure people do not leave their house unless it is strictly necessary and securing revenue for many businesses that are forced to close during the crisis, another change it may consider implementing is moving it’s Right to Work (RTW) checks online.
Neil Carberry, chief executive officer of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), spoke in response to the government’s enforced lockdown earlier this week. He stated that if gyms, libraries, places of worship and any retailers selling ‘non-selling items’ have to be shut down, it is crucial these face-to-face checks are abolished as well.
“On a practical note, this latest development makes it an absolute prerequisite to enable online ‘Right to Work’ checks as a pragmatic alternative to face-to-face checks. Right to Work checks currently apply to all workers subject to immigration law. We expect the government to make this change in light of the lockdown measures,” Mr Carberry stated.
What are ‘Right To Work’ checks?
‘Right to Work’ checks are required for non-British employees to ascertain they are legitimately allowed to work in the UK.
Guidelines for the assessment stated: “l employers in the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working. You do this by conducting simple right to work checks before you employ someone, to make sure the individual is not disqualified from carrying out the work in question by reason of their immigration status.”
Businesses that fail to perform these could face a civil penalty if they have employed someone illegally due to their immigration status.
However, employers that have issued the assessments correctly will be excused from being penalised.
“If we find that you have employed someone who does not have the right to work in question, but you have correctly conducted ‘Right to Work’ checks as required, you will not receive a civil penalty for that illegal worker,” a spokesperson revealed.
Why are ‘Right To Work’ checks important?
The reason the government insists these checks are taken seriously is because anyone who is employed illegally could impact on the salaries and employment rights of other workers.
“It leaves people vulnerable to exploitation and results in unscrupulous employers undercutting compliant businesses. It can also negatively impact on the wages of lawful workers and is linked to other labour market abuse such as tax evasion, breach of the national minimum wage and exploitative working conditions, including modern slavery in the most serious cases,” the guidance to employers states.
How does coronavirus affect these checks?
As these assessments are conducted as face-to-face interviews, Mr Carberry insists it is essential they are moved online so employers and potential employees can fill them out over the internet, without having to meet in person.
This would adhere to the strict guidelines that states people from separate households have to be two metres apart at all times to reduce the chance of them contracting the fatal virus.
Why employers should not ignore ‘Right to Work’ checks
Some businesses might be tempted to waiver their assessments of employees during this time of crisis. However, if they do so, they could face fines of up to £20,000 per person should the person they have employed be found to be working illegally.
According to Lexology.com, there will be no exception to the rules regarding these checks, so businesses have to remain cautious.
Some businesses have been forced to close during the pandemic lockdown. However, this does not exclude them from conducting the assessments, and they are still required to follow the guidelines as much as possible.
The publication suggests asking the potential employee to send their original documents by post and verifying them via video link. However, these still have to be the original versions, as copies cannot be accepted instead.
Are online checks available now?
While the REC insists online checks should be made available to every potential employee, some people already have access to these assessments on the internet.
These include workers who possess a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or those who are nationals of the European Union (EU) who has a Pre-settled or Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Even those who are able to submit their RTW application online are still required to have a video conference to confirm their status.
Other immigration checks
While the RTW check is essential, employers may want to conduct other thorough assessments on their employees to prove they are legally allowed to work for them and that their employment will not cause a problem for the company.
For instance, employee criminal background check services can give businesses confidence that their staff have not been on the wrong side of the law in the past.