Right to work check
The legally-required check every UK employer must carry out before employing someone, confirming they are permitted to work in the UK.
A right to work check is how a UK employer establishes, and can prove, that someone is legally allowed to work for them. It has to happen before employment starts — checking after someone has already started doesn't count.
There are three ways to carry one out: a manual document check (passport or other accepted ID, checked in the holder's physical presence or via live video call alongside the original document), an online check using the Home Office view-a-right-to-work-status service (for those with a share code, typically visa holders and some non-UK nationals), or a digital identity check carried out through a certified Right to Work Digital Verification Service Provider (RtW DVSP) — the role previously called an Identity Service Provider (IDSP) — which is available to British and Irish citizens holding a valid passport. From 1 October 2026 the Home Office Code of Practice requires digital checks to go through a certified RtW DVSP; a check run outside that route does not give the employer a statutory excuse.
Carrying out a compliant check correctly gives the employer a 'statutory excuse' — a legal defence against a civil penalty if the employee later turns out not to have had the right to work. From October 2026, penalties for employing someone without the right to work rose sharply, and the definition of 'employer' widened to explicitly cover gig-economy and umbrella arrangements, not just direct employment.
Key facts
- Must be completed before employment starts, not after
- A correctly-completed check gives the employer a statutory excuse (legal defence) even if the worker turns out not to have the right to work
- Civil penalties for non-compliant employers rose substantially from October 2026, and now apply more widely (contracted and platform workers, not only direct employees)
- Right-to-work evidence must be retained for the duration of employment plus a further period after it ends — it cannot simply be deleted on request, because it is the employer's only proof of the statutory excuse
Checked 2026-09. Rates and thresholds change — always confirm current figures on GOV.UK before relying on them.
Crewkind tracks this for you automatically
Free for a year while you're under five employees — no credit card required.