What is a right to work check?
Information of the right to work check process and who needs to have their right to work checked
A right to work check is a Home Office process to establish that each employee or casual worker has the right to work in the UK before they start their employment.
In addition, those with time-limited right to work in the UK (i.e. those who hold a ‘List B’ document such as a visa) must have a repeat check before their visa/document is due to expire.
Right to work check required |
Right to work check not required |
Any employees working for the University (British citizen/visa holder) |
Anybody working entirely overseas |
Casual workers | Anybody continuously employed since before 27 January 1997 |
Temporary Worker/Tier 5 visa holders |
Self-employed workers |
Examiners (in some circumstances) | Agency workers |
Out-tutors arranged by department | Workers supplied by the Temporary Staffing Service |
Unpaid workers | Volunteers |
Anyone doing work experience who is over the age of 16 |
Anyone doing work experience who is under the age of 16 |
Student/Tier 4 visa holders
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Visitors (either British citizen,
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External electoral board members/committee members
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Employing Student/Tier 4 student visa holders
Please note that most student visa holders are restricted to work up to 20 hours per week. Before employing a student, please ask them to complete the Student Employment Declaration form to check whether they are working for another employer and whether their visa permits them to work full time outside term.
For more information about this, please see the Employing student visa holder pages
Where a Student/Tier 4 visa holder is applying to switch into Skilled Worker, they are permitted to start work during their application for a Skilled Worker visa. See Switching from a Student/Tier 4 visa into Skilled Worker for additional information
Right to work scenarios
Please see our RTW scenarios guidance on right to work checks for different scenarios such as re-hiring previous employees, internal transfers, casual workers etc. for further information.
BREXIT transition period has ended
The transition period ended on 31 December 2020 and the right to work rules changed on 1 July 2021. New employees/casuals who are EU/EEA citizens need to show that they have Pre-Settled or Settled status or a UK visa (instead of just their passport) to evidence they have the RTW in the UK before starting work. Showing just a passport will then only be acceptable for British and Irish nationals. Retrospective checks will not be required for EU/EEA citizens employed prior to 1 July 2021, but casuals starting a new engagement will need to meet the new RTW rules even if they have been engaged before.
List A and List B documents are two lists of documents which can be accepted as proof of right to work. Whether an employee falls under List A or List B depends on their nationality and/or their current immigration status in the UK.
List A
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List B
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British or Irish national | Global Talent/ Tier 1 visa holder |
National of EU/EEA country with Settled status | Skilled Worker/ Tier 2 visa holder |
Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) holder | Student/ Tier 4 visa holder |
Tier 5 visa holder | |
Dependant visa holder |
List A documents
Permanent proof of right to work - no repeat checks are required during employment
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List B documents:
Time limited right to work. A repeat check must be done for all list B holders before the document expires if employment is expected to continue
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There is no requirement to carry out a right to work check for the following:
- People providing a service for which they invoice the department or college under a contract for services and for which they are self- employed according to HMRC rules
- Academic and other visitors who are citizens of the UK/Ireland or already in the UK on an appropriate visa.
- Individuals invited to Oxford to carry out occasional tasks for which they are unpaid but for which expenses may be reimbursed e.g. external electoral board members or committee members
- Agency workers (right to work is checked by the agency)
- Temps sourced through the University Temporary Staffing Service (right to work is checked and held by the Service)
- Volunteers (voluntary activity must not amount to unpaid work, volunteer work or job substitution). In order to be considered as a volunteer:
- there should be no payment, other than reasonable travel and meals expenditure actually incurred (not an allowance for the same);
- there should be no contractual obligations;
- the service should not be a substitute for employment (i.e. fulfilling a role that a salaried worker would normally fulfil).
Failure to comply with Right to Work check requirements poses a serious risk to these licences:
A breach from a single college or department (including those who do not have any Skilled Worker/Tier 2 or Tier 5 sponsored visa holders) may result in potentially serious consequences for entire Collegiate University.
Departments and colleges should check and record the visa status of:
- Anybody to whom a letter has been issued to facilitate entry to the UK as an Academic or Business visitor under a Standard Visitor visa (except for a period of one day or less)
- Individuals with Permitted Paid Engagements.
Copies of the passport and appropriate visa should be taken and retained for the duration of the visit.
Training for Administrators
The team runs regular training courses on Global Talent visa, Skilled Worker visa, Tier 5, Visitors and Right to Work
BOOK A PLACE ON A TRAINING SESSION
Forms & Guidance
Download the forms and guidance documents
Contact us
Medical Sciences / Humanities / GLAM / UAS / Continuing Education / Colleges
Angelina Pelova, Email: angelina.pelova@admin.ox.ac.uk
Jennifer Brewer, Email: jennifer.brewer@admin.ox.ac.uk
MPLS / Social Sciences
Lyn Davis, Email: lyn.davis@admin.ox.ac.uk
Richard Birt, Email: richard.birt@admin.ox.ac.uk