Where businesses most commonly get it wrong
Accepting copies or photographs instead of originals
One of the most common failures we see is managers accepting a photo of a passport sent via email or WhatsApp. This does not constitute a compliant check. Original documents must be physically inspected in person, or the Government’s online share code system must be used where the individual holds a digital immigration status.
The rule is straightforward: you must see the original document and satisfy yourself that it’s genuine. Email copies, WhatsApp photos, and scanned PDFs have no legal standing regardless of whether the underlying document is authentic. Using them removes your statutory excuse entirely.
Delegating without training
Right to work checks are sometimes delegated to line managers or team leaders who have never been properly briefed on what to look for or what the process requires. A check carried out by an untrained person, even with good intentions, may not be compliant.
Training doesn’t need to be complex. Managers need to know which documents are acceptable, how to examine them properly, and what to do if something doesn’t look right. A one-hour briefing with a clear reference guide is usually sufficient. An untrained manager who accepts the wrong document type removes your statutory excuse entirely.
No system for tracking expiry dates
For employees with time-limited right to work, such as those on a visa, the initial check is just the start. You are required to carry out a follow-up check before their permission expires. Without a tracking system, these deadlines can pass unnoticed.
A spreadsheet or HR system reminder is sufficient. What matters is that someone owns it and that reminders fire early enough to act before expiry. If an employee’s right to work lapses and you’ve continued employing them without a valid recheck, you lose your statutory excuse even if the original check was done perfectly.
Poor record keeping
Even where checks are done correctly, poor documentation means you cannot prove it. Records must be retained for the duration of employment and for at least two years afterwards. Failing to produce evidence during a Home Office audit is treated the same as failing to do the check at all.
The copy should be clear, dated, and stored securely. For online checks, save or print the result from the checking service. Store records consistently so that if an inspector asks to see a specific employee’s file, you can produce it immediately.
A real example: how one business fixed its process
We worked with a busy manufacturing company in the West Midlands that had recently moved right to work checks from HR to line managers during the interview process. Within a short time, it became clear that several managers were accepting photographs of documents via email rather than physically inspecting originals.
Although the documents were believed to be genuine, the process was non-compliant. We stepped in with a practical remediation plan: manager briefings across all supervisory levels, a standardised checklist embedded into the onboarding process, an audit of all existing employee files, and a tracker to flag visa expiry dates for follow-up checks.
The business achieved full compliance within six weeks. The audit gave them peace of mind they hadn’t had before, and the new process took far less time to run than the previous ad hoc approach.
How to build a compliant process
- Carry out checks before the employee starts, not after
- Inspect original documents in person, or use the Home Office online service for those with a share code
- Take a clear copy of the document and date it on the day of the check
- Keep records securely for the duration of employment plus two years
- Create a tracker for time-limited permissions and diarise follow-up checks before expiry
- Train anyone involved in recruitment on what a compliant check looks like
If you use agency workers, also confirm what right to work verification your agency carries out. You may not be liable in the same way, but it’s important to understand the cover you have.
The process is not complex, but it does need to be consistent. The biggest compliance failures come not from deliberate evasion but from inconsistency: checks done well for some employees and poorly for others, record-keeping that works for permanent staff but not agency workers, training that reaches HR but not the managers actually running interviews. Building the process once, training the right people, and reviewing it annually takes a few hours. The cost of not doing it can run to tens of thousands.
Get it right before an inspection finds it
Right to work compliance is one of those areas where the cost of getting it wrong far outweighs the cost of getting it right. Non-compliance doesn’t always look like a deliberate act. Often it’s a process that drifted, or a check that was done well for one person and poorly for another.
If you’re not confident your current process is fully compliant, our retained HR support includes compliance reviews that can identify and fix gaps before they become a problem.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call
Or read the Home Office employer guidance on right to work checks for the full legislative framework.
About the author
Laura Weston MCIPD, Senior HR Consultant at Limelite HR & Learning. Laura specialises in employment law, HR compliance, change management and policy support, helping organisations across Worcestershire and the UK navigate complex people challenges with confidence. Connect with Laura on LinkedIn.
