Pre-employment checks
Pre-employment checks: ensuring candidates are eligible to work in the UK
A new immigration system applies to people arriving in the UK from 1 January 2021. EU citizens moving to the UK to work will need to get a visa in advance. Employers need a sponsor licence to hire most workers from outside the UK. See right to work checks: employing EU, EEA and Swiss citizens.
All employers in the UK have a responsibility to stop illegal workers. You must therefore check the entitlement of everyone you plan to employ to work in the UK. Failure to do so may result in a civil penalty or criminal conviction.
British citizens can currently work in the UK without restrictions. Since 1 July 2021, Irish citizens can continue to use their passport or passport card to prove their right to work in the UK.
All other EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens will no longer be able to use their passport or national identity card to prove their right to work. You'll need to check their right to work online using:
- a share code
- their date of birth
You can also check someone's original documents instead if they do not have a UK immigration status that can be shared with your digitally. Check which types of documents give someone the right to work in the UK.
You could face a civil penalty if you employ a worker and have not carried out a correct right-to-work check.
Even if you think that a potential employee has the right to work in the UK, you should still make the necessary checks. You should ask candidates to provide evidence of their right to work in the UK by producing original copies of documents specified by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).
For more information on checking an employee's eligibility, see ensuring your workers are eligible to work in the UK.
In addition, check if someone can work in the UK on the GOV.UK website.
Employing someone who needs permission to work in the UK
You may need a sponsor licence to employ someone from outside the UK.
You do not need to sponsor an EEA or Swiss national, or their eligible family members, if they arrived in the UK before 11pm on 31 December 2020, provided they applied for status on the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021 and that application was granted. With limited exceptions, you do not need to sponsor Irish citizens.
Read GOV.UK guidance on sponsorship.
For more information on checking an employee's eligibility, see ensuring your workers are eligible to work in the UK.
