Right to Work for New Starters: The Pre-Employment Checklist Every UK Employer Needs

Right to work checks are not optional, not discretionary, and not something you can do "in the first week" once someone's started. The check must be complete before the employee's first day. If it isn't, any day they work before the check is a day without a statutory excuse — and if they turn out not to have the right to work, you're exposed from day one.

This guide pulls the pre-employment process into one place, so you can run through it before each hire.

This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, consult a qualified immigration solicitor.

Step 1: Identify which check method applies

The check method depends on the employee's nationality and how they evidence their right to work. There are three routes:

Route 1 — Manual document check Use this for British citizens without a valid passport (for example, someone presenting a birth certificate and National Insurance letter) and Irish citizens presenting an Irish passport or Irish passport card. It's also valid for British or Irish citizens with a valid passport who prefer this route.

Ask to see the original document(s), check them in the employee's presence, copy them, and record the date.

Route 2 — Home Office online service (share code check) Use this for EU citizens (settled or pre-settled status), non-EU citizens with a work visa, and most people with an eVisa. Ask the employee to generate a share code from their Home Office online account (starts with "W" for right to work purposes). Then enter the share code and the employee's date of birth at the online right to work checking service.

Save a PDF or HTML copy of the 'profile' page. This is your record.

Route 3 — Registered digital verification service provider (RtW DVSP) Mainly used for British and Irish citizens with a passport (or Irish passport card) that is current or up to 6 months past expiry; a provider can also verify other List A and List B documents where they are available digitally from the issuing authority. You commission a registered provider (a RtW DVSP) to run a digital identity check — useful for remote hires where in-person document inspection isn't practical. See our guide to digital right to work checks for how this works.

If the employee can't provide any of the above: Contact the Employer Checking Service. You'll need this if, for example, the employee has an outstanding immigration application or appeal and doesn't yet have a share code or physical document showing their right to work.

Step 2: Run the check before the start date

The timing requirement in the employer's guide to right to work checks (in force from 1 October 2026) is absolute: for a manual check, "Employers need to complete all steps before employment commences in order to establish a statutory excuse". The Home Office checklist says the same for every route: "Employers must carry out one of the following checks before the worker commences employment".

"Before you employ" means before they do any work — including informal trial shifts, induction days, or onboarding days that are technically before their formal start date. If they're working, the check should already have been done. For staff acquired through a TUPE transfer, see our separate guide.

Practical implications:

• Schedule the check as part of the offer acceptance process, not as an onboarding task on day one
• Build it into your contract-signing workflow — check completed and recorded before the offer is confirmed
• For remote hires, give the employee advance notice to generate a share code or to prepare for a provider (RtW DVSP) check

Step 3: Determine which list the documents fall under

This matters because it determines your ongoing follow-up obligations.

List A documents give permanent, indefinite right to work. Examples include:

• A UK or Irish passport
• A UK birth certificate plus National Insurance evidence (see what a National Insurance number does and does not prove)
• A document confirming indefinite leave to remain or settled status

One check at hire. No follow-ups ever required.

List B documents give time-limited right to work. Examples include:

• A visa or endorsement in a passport with an expiry date
• A Positive Verification Notice from the Employer Checking Service (valid for 6 months)

Follow-up checks are required. For most eVisa holders, you need to re-check before the permission expiry date shown in the share code result. Set a reminder now, not later. Use our follow-up check timeline calculator to generate the dates.

Exception: EU employees with settled or pre-settled status — even though their status evidence comes through an online check, no follow-up checks are required: the guide says a check is needed only before employment begins. See our guide to right to work for EU employees for the current rules.

Exception: British and Irish citizens — List A, no follow-ups, regardless of the check method used.

Step 4: Record the check immediately

You need to keep:

• A copy of the document(s) checked (manual check), a PDF or HTML copy of the profile page (online check), or the provider's output (provider check)
• The date of the check — as a declaration on the copy ("The date on which this right to work check was made: [insert date]") or in a separate manual or digital record
• The name of the employee the check relates to

For online checks: keep a PDF or HTML copy of the profile page, which includes the date the check was conducted. For manual checks: record the date at the time of the check using that declaration wording, or in a separate record. A bare date on the copy does not count — the Home Office checklist says "Simply writing a date on the copy document on its own will not be sufficient."

Retention period: keep the records for the duration of employment plus two years after the employee leaves.

See our right to work record keeping guide for exactly what the Home Office expects if they visit.

Step 5: Set follow-up reminders before you move on

If the employee's check reveals a time-limited right to work, the follow-up obligation starts today. The expiry date shown in the share code result is the date the statutory excuse lapses — you need to run a follow-up check before that date, not on it.

Set reminders at:

• 90 days before expiry — begin the process
• 30 days — contact the employee if you haven't received documentation
• 7 days — escalate; prepare to contact the Employer Checking Service if the employee's application is pending

If expiry day passes and you haven't completed a follow-up check, the 28-day grace period begins automatically — but only if you're already satisfied the employee has an outstanding immigration application. See our guide to the 28-day grace period for exactly how that window works.

Common mistakes to avoid

Doing the check on the start date. Any work done before the check completes is without a statutory excuse. Schedule earlier.

Accepting a BRP. Biometric Residence Permits expired on 31 December 2024 and are no longer valid evidence of right to work. If an employee presents one, direct them to access their eVisa online account and generate a share code.

Checking British citizens but not noting the document type. Write down whether the document was a passport (List A — no follow-up) or a birth certificate (also List A, but you also need evidence of National Insurance). The list classification matters if there's ever a question about your process.

Skipping the check for "obvious" nationals. Checking only non-UK-looking employees is discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010. Every employee gets a check, including British citizens. The same discipline applies to internal moves — if a contractor becomes a direct employee, run a fresh check.

Not saving the share code result. Save a PDF or HTML copy of the profile page at the time of the check, so the record shows the date you did it.

Quick pre-employment checklist

1. Identify check method: manual / online / RtW DVSP / ECS
2. Check completed before start date: yes
3. Documents verified in employee's presence (manual) or share code entered and a PDF or HTML copy of the profile page saved (online)
4. Date of the check recorded — a dated declaration on the copy or a separate record (manual); shown on the saved profile page (online)
5. List A (no follow-up) or List B (follow-up due date set) — noted in records
6. Records filed and accessible for duration-of-employment plus two years
7. If List B: follow-up reminder set in calendar or tracking system

For a downloadable version of this process, see our right to work checklist template.

Sources

• Employer's guide to right to work checks — GOV.UK (the version that came into force on 1 October 2026)
• Code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers — GOV.UK (in force from 1 October 2026)
• Equality Act 2010 — legislation.gov.uk