Right to Work Compliance

Right to work compliance, designed for the way your business actually hires.

Every UK employer has to carry out a right to work check before a worker starts — and retain the record for the worker's employment plus 2 years. There are three valid methods (share code, IDVT, manual) and the right one depends on the worker. Get it wrong and the statutory excuse against an up to £60,000 per worker civil penalty disappears. Harveys Legal designs, audits, and runs right to work compliance for UK employers so the discipline operates inside the business — not as an afterthought.

Book Consultation →Compliance retainer

Regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority · IAA Reg No. F202537009

Three valid methodsShare code (online) · IDVT (digital identity) · manual (original document). The right method depends on the worker — wrong method, no statutory excuse.

Statutory excuseA correctly conducted check carried out before employment, with records retained correctly, establishes a defence against the illegal-working civil penalty.

Up to £60,000 per workerThe maximum civil penalty for employing someone without a valid right to work. Per illegal worker, not per business — a single compliance visit can produce a six-figure total.

2-year retentionRecords must be kept during the worker's employment and for 2 years after they leave. Early destruction is a record-keeping failure even if the original check was correct.

The three methods, at a glance

Which right to work check applies to which worker.

The single most consequential right to work compliance decision is choosing the correct check method for the worker in front of you. The Home Office prescribes which method applies to which worker — and using the wrong method, even if every other step is correct, does not establish the statutory excuse.

→Share code (online) — for workers with digital Home Office status. Most non-British, non-Irish workers including all sponsored Skilled Worker route workers. Worker generates a code, employer verifies on gov.uk Check a Job Applicant's Right to Work service.

→IDVT (digital identity check) — optional alternative for British and Irish citizens with valid passports. Carried out via a UKAS-certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP). Introduced 6 April 2022.

→Manual (original document) — for British and Irish citizens (where IDVT is not used), workers with older paper documents, or as the fallback when the share code service does not cover the worker. Original, in-date document from List A or List B of Annex A of the Home Office Employer's Guide.

→Photocopies, scans, emailed PDFs, or screenshots of someone else's check do not establish the statutory excuse — under any of the three methods.

Who this is for

Built for UK employers managing sponsored hiring.

UK employers hiring workers under the Skilled Worker route or any other work visa

Businesses with mixed UK / non-UK workforce where the wrong method is regularly used by mistake

HR teams running pre-employment checks across multiple sites or geographies

Sponsors approaching a Home Office compliance visit who need an evidence pack that holds up

Employers who have just received a civil penalty notice or referral and need urgent regulated response

Where right to work checks go wrong

A right to work check only provides a statutory excuse if every step is correct — the right method, before employment, the right document, the right record, retained for the full period. Each of these is a place the check can fail. Each failure removes the protection entirely.

Check carried out on the worker's first day instead of before employment starts

Wrong method used — manual check for a worker who should have gone through the share code service, or share code accepted for a worker who only has paper documents

Document copied without a date or signature, leaving no contemporaneous evidence of when the check happened

Follow-up checks on time-limited workers not diarised or missed entirely

Records destroyed when the worker leaves, before the 2-year-after retention point

IDVT carried out via a provider that is not UKAS-certified — looks digital, does not establish the statutory excuse

What Harveys helps with

Right to work compliance designed once, then operated.

Most employers do not need ongoing help with individual checks — once the process is designed correctly, the checks run themselves. What we do is the design work, the audit work when a process has drifted, and the urgent regulated response work when something has gone wrong.

Right to work process design — the share code vs IDVT vs manual decision tree for your specific worker mix

Records template and retention policy — the contemporaneous evidence pack that establishes the statutory excuse, structured for a Home Office compliance visit

Right to work audit — structured review of recent checks against current Home Office rules, ahead of a compliance visit or after a near-miss

IDSP selection guidance — which UKAS-certified providers suit your hiring profile, volume, and sector

HR team training — share code mechanics, IDVT process, manual check rules, and the retention discipline that holds it all together

Civil penalty response — urgent regulated work where a check has been challenged or a notice has been served (within 28-day objection window)

How it works

How right to work compliance support works.

Process review

We review your current right to work check process, evidence pack, and record retention against current Home Office rules and the share code / IDVT / manual decision tree.

Gap identification

We identify errors, gaps, and process weaknesses that could remove the statutory excuse — including missed follow-up checks, weak records, and wrong-method patterns.

Process redesign

We design the right to work check process around your specific worker mix and HR setup, with templates, retention policy, and team responsibilities.

Embed and operate

Team briefing or training, plus ongoing access either on retainer or via the Audit-Ready Sponsor Compliance retainer for licensed sponsors.

Pricing

Clear, upfront pricing.

Harveys Legal works on fixed-fee and scoped-retainer models. No surprise bills. Home Office fees are always separate and clearly itemised.

Get a quote in consultation →

Priced on scope

What affects the fee

—Size of workforce and hiring volume

—Current state of existing right to work records and processes

—Whether a full historical records review is needed (e.g. before a compliance visit)

—Depth of HR team training required

Right to work compliance work is priced based on scope. For licensed sponsors, right to work compliance is included in the Audit-Ready Sponsor Compliance retainer from £295/month + VAT. Initial consultation is free — we will tell you what is needed and what it will cost.

Representative example

How this typically plays out in practice.

Client

Mid-sized retail group, 240 employees across six stores, mixed UK and non-UK workforce

Situation

A retail group reviewed their right to work processes after a near-miss — a manager almost employed a worker without completing the required share-code check. Records had been carried out inconsistently across stores, with some stored as paper copies, others on email, and several missing entirely. Time-limited right to work follow-ups were not being diarised. A Home Office compliance visit was on the horizon.

What Harveys did

—Right to work process audit across all six stores — method, timing, evidence pack, and retention compliance

—Identification of 14 incomplete or missing right to work records requiring structured remediation

—Updated process design: share code vs IDVT vs manual decision tree, standard checklist, retrievable digital storage, follow-up calendar

—HR team training session covering all three check methods plus the retention rule

—Ongoing advisory access for edge cases and time-limited right to work follow-ups

Outcome

Statutory excuse position restored across the workforce within six weeks. The retail group reduced civil penalty exposure significantly and built a right to work process that is now standard at every new hire — including a documented follow-up cadence for time-limited workers.

Representative composite example for illustrative purposes only. Client details are anonymised and combined across multiple matters. Outcomes vary based on individual circumstances. Final decisions remain with the Home Office or relevant decision-maker.

Your adviser

Mehmood Rajoka

IAA-regulated UK Immigration Adviser · Firm Reg F202537009

Mehmood leads Harveys Legal's business immigration practice. He works directly with UK employers on sponsor licence applications, compliance, and Home Office audit readiness — focused on practical, commercially useful advice rather than legal theatre.

Regulated by

Immigration Advice Authority

Firm Reg No.

F202537009

Practice scope

UK business immigration

Common questions

Questions employers ask us.

A pre-employment check that confirms a worker's right to work in the UK. Every UK employer must carry one out before a worker starts — using one of three valid methods (share code, IDVT, or manual). A correctly conducted check, with the records retained for the full retention period, establishes the statutory excuse against an illegal-working civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker.

It depends on the worker. Share code applies to most non-British, non-Irish workers (including all sponsored Skilled Worker route workers). IDVT applies to British and Irish citizens with valid passports who prefer the digital route — it is optional, not mandatory. Manual applies to British and Irish citizens where IDVT is not used, workers with older paper documents, and as the fallback when the share code service does not cover the worker. The wrong method, even carried out correctly, does not establish the statutory excuse.

Up to £60,000 per illegal worker. Repeat breaches attract higher penalties than first breaches. The maximum is per worker, not per business — so a single compliance visit identifying several unchecked workers can produce a six-figure total. A correctly conducted right to work check is the statutory defence.

During the worker's entire period of employment with you, and for a further 2 years after they stop working for you — regardless of how the employment ends. Records destroyed before the 2-year-after point do not establish the statutory excuse, even if the check was conducted correctly at the time. The rule applies equally to share code, IDVT, and manual checks.

Yes — and they trigger additional sponsor reporting duties for licensed sponsors. The initial right to work check for a sponsored worker is typically via the share code service. Follow-up checks at visa expiry are 10-working-day reportable events under sponsor duties as well as right to work events under the civil penalty regime — both threads need to be managed together.

Do not back-date or recreate records — that is identifiable on examination and turns a defendable position into an indefensible one. Take regulated advice immediately. If a civil penalty notice has been served, the 28-day objection window has already started running — book an urgent consultation. If no notice has been served yet, a structured remediation programme is usually the right next step.

Related services & resources

IAA

Regulated immigration advice

Harveys Legal is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority.

Firm Reg No. F202537009. Verify on the IAA register before engagement.

Speak to Harveys Legal

Right to work compliance, done once and operated properly.

Book a consultation. We will review your existing right to work process, identify the gaps a Home Office compliance officer would surface today, and tell you what a defensible process looks like for your specific worker mix. Harveys Legal supports immigration applications, sponsor compliance preparation and related legal processes. Final decisions remain with the Home Office or relevant decision-maker.

Book Consultation →View compliance retainer

Harveys Legal supports immigration applications, sponsor compliance preparation and related legal processes. Final decisions remain with the Home Office or the relevant decision-maker.

Book a Consultation →