How Right to Work Checks Changed After COVID and What Employers Need to Know Today
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK Government introduced temporary adjustments to the Right to Work checks. This allowed employers to continue hiring while face-to-face meetings were off the table.
These allowances permitted employers to verify documents remotely using scanned copies and video calls. This was a significant shift from the traditional requirement to check original documents in person. Although the temporary measures have now ended, the pandemic left us with long-lasting shifts in digital identity verification and remote hiring processes.
Understanding how Right to Work checks changed during this period helps employers make sense of the process today and continue to support modern, flexible hiring.
The COVID Right to Work concessions: what changed?
Before the pandemic, Right to Work checks required hiring managers, HR teams and similar - to visually check original documents in the presence of the employee/candidate. In March 2020, the Home Office introduced temporary COVID adjustments that allowed employers to:
- Conduct Right to Work checks via video call
- Accept scanned copies or photographs of original documents
- Verify documents remotely rather than inspecting them in person
With everyone suddenly at home, and forced to lean on technology in a new way the adjustments enabled organisations to continue hiring and onboarding staff while we remained in ‘lockdown’. For many employers, this was the first time their recruitment and onboarding processes had been carried out remotely.
When did the COVID concessions end?
The temporary Right to Work adjustments remained in place until 30 September 2022. From 1 October 2022, employers were required to return to the standard checking process or use digital alternatives introduced by the Home Office.
How Right to Work checks work today
At the time, many employers assumed these changes would only be temporary. In reality, the experience accelerated a much wider shift towards digital verification.
Employers can currently complete Right to Work checks in three compliant ways, depending on the candidate’s circumstances.
1. Manual document checks
Employers may verify Right to Work by examining original documents in person.
The manual process is relatively straightforward, following a few basic steps:
- Obtaining original identity documents
- Checking the documents in the presence of the applicant
- Making a clear copy of the documents
- Recording the date the in-person check was completed
This remains the traditional approach and is still widely used across many organisations.
2. Digital checks via Identity Service Providers
Employers can also verify British and Irish passports digitally through an approved Identity Service Provider. These providers use Identity Document Validation Technology to confirm that a passport is genuine and belongs to the individual presenting it.
Digital checks make it possible to verify documents remotely while still meeting Home Office guidance. Many employers now incorporate digital identity verification as part of a broader pre-employment screening process.
3. Online Home Office checks
In some cases, Right to Work status must be verified through the government’s online checking service.
Candidates provide a share code, which allows employers to view their immigration status directly through the Home Office system.
This process is commonly used for individuals who hold digital immigration status rather than physical documents.
Has COVID influenced modern hiring practices?
Although the pandemic is now something committed to memory, the concessions clearly demonstrated that many parts of the hiring process could be handled digitally.
Many organisations experienced the benefits of remote hiring, including:
- faster onboarding processes
- increased flexibility for candidates and employers
- the ability to recruit beyond local geographic areas
- improved use of digital verification tools
As a result, digital identity verification and remote screening processes have become far more common. In many cases, organisations found the new digital processes were actually more efficient than their previous methods so they have remained part of recruitment workflows long after restrictions ended.
Support with Right to Work checks
Secure Screening Services supports organisations across the UK with reliable and efficient pre-employment screening solutions, including digital identity verification and Right to Work checks.
If you would like to explore ways to streamline your hiring processes while maintaining strong verification standards, get in touch with our team to find out how we can help.
