Right to work checks

Please note that:

• Failure to carry out RTW checks may result in a civil penalty, and recruiters are personally liable.
• All offers of employment must be made subject to a satisfactory RTW check.
• Individuals will not be permitted to start work until a satisfactory RTW check has been undertaken.
• Where departmental staff are responsible for the check, please ensure that checks are fully completed and evidence has been submitted to the relevant People Function team before confirming a final start date to the individual and allowing them to start work.
• If the Staff Compliance Team/Casual Worker Team is responsible for the check, please await formal confirmation from SCT/CWT that all pre-employment conditions have been met before allowing the individual to start work.
• If an individual requires an in-person manual check and is unable to attend before their proposed work start date for any reason (health, location, etc.), their start date must be delayed until they are able to attend.
• All follow-up RTW checks during employment/work will be undertaken by the Staff Compliance Team or Casual Worker Team as necessary

Departmental Right to Work checkers for employees: In addition to the online guidance, please see training slides for the refresher sessions on conducting compliant right to work check here - RTW checks Departmental refresher

Please note that only the following types of RTW checks are permissible:

1) Online RTW check - using the Home Office online service

• These online checks require the individual to provide their RTW share code. The RTW checker then checks their RTW status online and verifies the online check photo with the individual, either in person or via video call, to confirm it is a true likeness before they start work.
• Guidance on conducting online checks using the Home Office online service is available.

2) A manual RTW check of original documents, carried out in person

• These checks must be conducted in person, without exception.
• Departmental staff are responsible for conducting in-person manual RTW checks for staff in the groups highlighted in the table below, i.e., UK/Irish nationals and EEA/non-EEA nationals with Indefinite Leave to Remain endorsed in a current passport.
• Biometric Residence Permits/Cards and Frontier Worker Permits are not accepted evidence types and must be verified via a Home Office Online RTW check.

3) A digital RTW check - using Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) via the services of a certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP)

• The Home Office introduced changes that enable employers to engage a certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP) to conduct digital RTW checks on holders of valid biometric British/Irish passports or Irish passport cards. 
• The Casual Worker Team has been piloting this type of check/service, with a view to extending digital RTW checks university-wide. We will keep you updated on any developments.
• Responsibility for conducting RTW checks depends on the type of check (initial or follow-up), the individual’s employment type (employee or casual worker), and nationality and immigration status, as outlined in the table below.
• If you are unsure about any documents/online check results, please contact the Staff Compliance Team before permitting work to start.
• Additionally, where an individual has an outstanding visa/immigration status application or their immigration status requires additional verification, the Staff Compliance Team or Casual Worker Team will check this using the Home Office Employer Checking Service (ECS).
• For Right to Work (RTW) checks conducted in the department, please use the Imperial-Right-to-Work-Checklist Department template
• Given the frequency of updates, please use the current published version of the RTW checklist rather than saving local copies.

There are three types of right-to-work (RTW) checks that the College may carry out:

• an in-person manual RTW check; or
• an IDSP digital RTW check (Casual Worker Team only); or
• a Home Office Online RTW check

These checks may be conducted by departments, the Staff Compliance Team, or the Casual Worker Team, depending on the type of check (initial or follow-up), the individual’s employment type (employee or casual worker), and nationality and immigration status, as outlined in the table above.

Where an individual has an in-process visa/immigration status application or their immigration status requires additional verification, the Staff Compliance Team or Casual Worker Team will check this using the Home Office Employer Checking Service (ECS).

For in-person manual RTW checks

Obtain original documents from one of the lists of acceptable documents for right to work checks, either List A or List B Group 1 or List B Group 2:

• List A documents provide continuous permission
• List B Group 1 documents provide time-limited permission until the expiry date of leave
• List B Group 2 documents provide time-limited permission for 6 months

or

For IDSP digital RTW checks (Casual Worker Team only)

Obtain the digital RTW check report, including RTW documents and a photo.

The digital RTW check portal supports checks for UK or Irish nationals with a valid biometric British/Irish passport or Irish passport card.

or

For Home Office Online RTW check

Obtain RTW documents and RTW share code.

The online RTW check portal supports checks for those who hold: 

• status issued under the EU Settlement Scheme;
• an EU Settlement Scheme Certificate of Application (CoA);
• eVisa status (all categories of visa);
• Frontier worker permit  

and

For all manual, digital and online RTW checks

Obtain additional documents for the following:

• For Student visa holders:
• Completed Student Visa work form; and
• Where the students' term dates are not stated on the Student Visa work form, evidence of term and holiday dates (ideally forthe  full duration of the study programme); however, if the evidence covers a lesser period, additional evidence will be needed for employment to continue past the expiry date; or
• Evidence of completion and/or award of the study programme to confirm that their term-time working hours restriction no longer applies whilst their Student visa leave is valid
• This requirement is in place to ensure that Imperial College has on record the dates when the student can work part-time or more than 10/20 hours per week.

• For Skilled worker visa or GAE Temporary work visa holders, sponsored by Imperial and newly arrived in the UK:
• Evidence of UK Entry date (during Entry/visa start date validity period), e.g. stamp in passport/flight booking

• For Skilled worker visa or GAE Temporary work visa holders, sponsored by Imperial or another employer and undertaking supplementary work:
• Certificate of Sponsorship, Job description and Contract (confirming normal working hours and showing employment current) for their sponsored employment and/or
• An officially headed letter from the sponsor confirming all required information for assessing supplementary employment criteria. 
• ATAS certificate, where they are undertaking relevant restricted research activities and sponsored in an applicable SOC occupation.  

Please note: These documents must be checked by the Staff Compliance Team before the individual is allowed to start work or access Imperial  campuses or the IT network

For in-person manual RTW checks

You must view the orig­i­nal doc­u­ments in the presence of the holder and check that:

• pho­tographs and dates of birth are con­sis­tent across doc­u­ments and with the individual’s ap­pear­ance;
• ex­piry dates for permission to be in the UK have not passed;
• any work restrictions allow them to do the type of work on offer;
• the doc­u­ments are gen­uine, have not been tam­pered with and be­long to the holder;
• the reasons for any dif­fer­ence in names across documents can be ex­plained by providing evidence (e.g. marriage cer­tifi­cate, di­vorce doc­u­ment, deed poll).

Please contact the Staff Compliance Team for further advice if you are concerned about the authenticity of a candidate's documentation.

For IDSP digital RTW checks (Casual Worker Team only)

You must use the IDSP digital RTW Check portal to view the individual’s digital RTW check report, including RTW documents and photo, and verify the digital check photo with the individual, either in person (through the department) or via video call, to confirm that it is a true likeness.

For Home Office online RTW checks

You must use the Online RTW Check portal to view the individual’s immigration status and photo online and verify the online check photo with the individual, either in person (through the department) or via video call, to confirm that it is a true likeness.

Guidance on conducting online checks is available. For any queries regarding the online checks process or result, please contact the Staff Compliance Team.

• ‌Request/copy and retain clear, good quality copies/scans of each document in a format which cannot be manually altered, including:
• Passports: any page with the document expiry date, nationality, date of birth, signature, leave expiry date, biometric details, photograph, and any page containing information indicating the holder has an entitlement to enter or remain in the UK (visa or entry stamp) and undertake the work in question.
• IDSP Digital and Home Office Online RTW checks results: the dated PDF result document
• Home Office ECS Positive Verification Notice: the dated PDF result document
• Complete the Imperial Right to Work Checklist to confirm: 
• that the RTW check was conducted before the individual’s first day of employment; or
• the date and time the RTW check was conducted on their first day of employment, to demonstrate that the individual did not start work before the RTW check was undertaken.
• Where the individual already holds a valid RTW in the UK status and the department is responsible for the RTW check, email the successful candidate’s completed Imperial Right to Work Checklist (including scanned RTW evidence document photos/scans), and saved as one PDF to the Recruitment Hub/Staff Hub, along with the request to hire/contract request form.
• RTW checks may be completed at/after the interview stage; however, please note the following recommendations, which are designed to minimise the need for in-person RTW checks wherever possible:

• When conducting in-person interviews, please ask candidates to bring original documents evidencing their RTW (or their passport if they require/hold permission to work in the UK).
• Where EEA/non-EEA nationals provide evidence of Indefinite Leave to Remain endorsed in a current passport, please encourage them to make a free application to obtain an eVisa status. Once an application is submitted, the Staff Compliance Team will verify the applicant's initial RTW via the Home Office Online RTW check or the Employers Checking Service, and conduct a follow-up check using the Home Office Online RTW once the eVisa is active.
• If the RTW check is not conducted at the interview stage, it must be scheduled and completed before the individual’s proposed start date.
• We recommend that you complete the RTW check and submit the completed RTW checklist and supporting evidence with the new hire/contract request, or as soon as possible thereafter, to the Recruitment/Staff Hub so it can be quality-checked at the earliest opportunity.
  This will help to ensure that this pre-employment condition does not cause any avoidable delays to start dates.