Right to Work Checks for Pharmacies in Leeds

Right to work checks are one of the few HR tasks that can instantly turn into a high-impact business risk. Get them wrong, and you’re not just dealing with a messy onboarding file; you’re exposed to serious penalties, reputational damage, and operational disruption. Get them right, and you build a repeatable hiring process that protects the business, treats candidates fairly, and keeps you audit-ready year-round. 

In 2026, the compliance bar is effectively higher because the UK’s right to work system is now firmly digital by default for many non-British/non-Irish workers, and the Home Office’s enforcement posture has become more visible to employers. The official Employer’s Guide makes it clear that all UK employers have a responsibility to prevent illegal working by conducting prescribed checks before employment starts, and that the purpose of following the prescribed steps is to establish a statutory excuse against a civil penalty.  

This guide explains the right-to-work process in practical terms, how to conduct checks correctly, how to avoid discrimination while doing so, how to handle follow-ups for time-limited permissions, and how to build the workflow into your onboarding so it doesn’t depend on one person’s memory. 

What a right to work check really is (and why it matters) 

A right to work check is your documented proof that you verified a person is legally allowed to do the work you’re hiring them for. The Home Office frames this as a simple employer responsibility that must be completed before employment commences.  

The legal and financial stakes are clear. If you employ someone who does not have the right to work and you did not do the correct checks, you can face a civil penalty (fine) of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker. And if you knowingly employ someone (or you had reasonable cause to believe they had no right to work), the consequences can be criminal: up to 5 years in jail and an unlimited fine. 

So, while a right to work check may feel like admin, it’s really a risk control, similar in importance to data protection, financial approvals, or health and safety procedures. 

Second, certain physical documents must not be accepted as proof of right to work. The Code of Practice is explicit that Biometric Residence Cards (BRC), Biometric Residence Permits (BRP), and Frontier Worker Permits (FWP) holders are only able to evidence their right to work using the Home Office online service, so you cannot accept a physical BRP/BRC/FWP as proof. This is exactly the kind of small admin mistake that leads to big risk if your HR team relies on outdated habits. 

British and Irish hires: manual checks or IDSP digital checks 

A common misconception is that everyone can use a shared code. They can’t. GOV.UK is clear that British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code, so employers must check physical documents or use an IDSP digital route.  

From the worker’s perspective, GOV.UK explains that British and Irish citizens can prove their right to work with a passport, or alternative documents like birth/adoption certificates or naturalisation documents, along with an official letter that shows their National Insurance number. That matters because SMEs sometimes get stuck when a candidate does not have a passport available. There are lawful alternatives, but you must follow the prescribed check steps. 

IDSP/IDVT checks are especially useful for remote hiring, but they come with boundaries. The right to work checklist makes clear that, for IDVT checks, only specified documents are accepted, such as a valid British passport, valid Irish passport, or valid Irish passport card. It also notes that certified providers exist and are listed on, though it is not mandatory to use only the listed providers if you’re satisfied, your chosen provider meets requirements. 

Even when using an IDSP/DVS, the employer remains responsible for the check. The Employer’s Guide explicitly states that while you may use a third party for support, responsibility for performing the check (to obtain the statutory excuse) remains with the employer. In other words: outsourcing the identity verification step does not outsource liability. 

Manual checks: still valid, but only when done precisely 

Manual checks remain a valid path when the person presents acceptable original documents from the relevant Home Office lists, and you complete all prescribed steps before employment begins. 

In practice, the biggest manual-check failures come from incomplete copying and weak recordkeeping. The Employer’s Guide requires that you make clear copies in a format that cannot be manually altered, and that you keep a secure record of the date you made the check. It also requires that document copies be kept securely for the duration of employment and for two years afterwards, then securely destroyed. 

That retention rule is what enables you to prove the statutory excuse later if Immigration Enforcement ever queries your hiring. When SMEs can’t locate evidence quickly, the legal risk increases even if the original hire was lawful. 

Follow-up checks: the part most SMEs forget 

One of the most operationally important rules in the Employer’s Guide is also one of the most missed: if an individual’s right to work is time-limited, you should conduct a follow-up check shortly before it is due to come to an end.  

In real business terms, follow-ups are where compliance becomes process. You need reminders, ownership, and a timeline that triggers action early, not on the expiry date. For time-limited permissions, the statutory excuse is time-limited too; failing to follow up can remove your protection even if the employee later remains lawful. 

This is also why HR teams should stop treating right to work as a recruitment-only task. It’s an ongoing compliance workflow across the employee lifecycle. 

How to build a right to work workflow that doesn’t depend on memory 

The easiest way to fail right to work checks is to rely on informal habits: a recruiter remembers what to do, a manager keeps copies in their inbox, and we’ll fix it later becomes the policy. The easiest way to succeed is to embed right to work into onboarding as a structured checklist with controlled document storage and expiry tracking. 

A classic example is accepting physical BRPs as proof because we’ve always done it that way. The Code of Practice is clear that BRP/BRC/FWP holders must be checked online.  Another common failure is collecting evidence but not keeping it for the required period; the Employer’s Guide requires retention for the duration of employment plus two years, then secure destruction. 

Another pattern is inconsistent checking; only checking foreign-looking candidates, which is risky both for compliance and discrimination. The official guidance explicitly highlights the need to avoid discrimination while conducting checks and points employers to the discrimination code of practice.  

Fixing these issues is less about effort and more about system: defined method selection, standardized evidence capture, documented dates, and automated reminders for follow-up checks. 

Good HR includes immigration compliance discipline 

Right to work checks are one of the clearest examples of how modern HR has become risk management. You’re protecting the business from penalties that can reach £60,000 per illegal worker, while also creating a fair hiring process that treats candidates consistently and avoids discrimination. 

If you want right to work compliance to be dependable (not personality-dependent), build it into onboarding: make the check mandatory, store the evidence centrally, schedule follow-ups for time-limited permissions, and train managers to treat the output as context for coaching, not as an afterthought. The Home Office guidance gives you the legal playbook; your job is to operationalize it.  

If you’d like to make this process easier to run day-to-day, HRPayHub can help you centralize employee records and structure onboarding steps so right to work compliance becomes a default part of hiring; start a trial or request a demo and we’ll walk you through a workflow tailored to your team size and hiring pattern.