You can be sent to jail for 5 years and have to pay an unlimited fine if you’re found guilty of employing someone who you knew or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ did not have the right to work in the UK.
You might have to pay a civil penalty of up to £20,000 if you employ someone who does not have the right to work and you did not do the correct checks, or you did not do them properly.
You will not have to pay the civil penalty if you can show you made the correct ‘right to work’ checks.
The temporary Covid-19 adjusted right to work check measures will now end on 31st August 2021, not 20th June 2021 as the Home Office announced in May.
Until 31st August 2021, as an employer, you can carry out right to work checks over video calls. Job applicants and existing workers can send you scanned documents or a photo of their documents via e-mail or a mobile app, rather than sending the originals.
From 1st September 2021, you must once again either check the applicant’s original documents or check the applicant’s right to work online if they have provided their share code.
You will not need to carry out further retrospective checks on employees who had a Covid-19 adjusted check.
