The Home Office temporary adjustments for right to work (RTW) checks due to COVID-19, which allowed a check to be undertaken remotely ended on 30 September 2022. This means that from 1 October 2022 Departments, Faculties and Colleges are required to conduct RTW checks under the original RTW rules. This may require the check to be conducted ‘face to face’, which we appreciate could be problematic for many parts of the University.
For EU/EEA staff with Settled/Pre-Settled visas or those staff with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP cards) you must conduct a RTW check via the Home Office online RTW portal which allows remote checks. Guidance on the online RTW portals are available here
For staff who do not fall in this category, RTW checks can still be conducted remotely by original RTW documents being sent recorded postal delivery to the person conducting the RTW check.
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- A reminder that expired British passports are acceptable as a RTW document (individuals may be less reluctant to send old/expired passports via the post).
- Possible that the potential employees can drop their RTW documents at the department and then the RTW can be carried out at a later date visa ‘teams’ with the checker holding the original RTW documents.
For those RTW checks that need to be conducted in person, we appreciate the additional challenge department, faculty and College HR staff will face at a time when large proportions of staff may still be working remotely. We are therefore investigating potential solutions to support you in conducting these checks.
Whilst the end of the ‘adjusted’ checks is unfortunate, it is important that all RTW checks made from 1 October 2022 onwards are conducted following these rule changes to protect our sponsorship license.
A reminder that BRP cards can no longer be accepted as proof of right to work and an online check must be carried out.
Full guidance on the RTW process is available on Staff Immigration website.
