Employers must verify workers’ right to work in the UK carefully, as digital ID won’t remove existing legal responsibilities, says Claire Scanlan
WHEN government announced plans for a national Digital ID card to confirm identity and immigration status, many employers welcomed it as a step towards simplicity.
For industries like flooring, where recruitment can be fast-paced and hands-on, the idea of a single digital credential that proves a worker’s right to work sounded like a long-overdue fix.
But digital ID is not here yet, and when it does arrive, it won’t remove employers’ existing legal duties. Every business in the sector, from large contractors to independent fitters, must already check that each person they employ or engage has the legal right to work in the UK. The penalties for getting it wrong are severe, and oversight offers no protection.
Compliance
Verifying someone’s right to work is not a formality; it’s a legal requirement, and the law sets out exactly how it must be done. Following one of the Home Office’s approved methods provides what’s known as a statutory excuse – a legal defence if a worker later turns out to be ineligible. Skip a step, lose a record, or use the wrong process, and that defence disappears.
For British and Irish citizens without an e-passport, the check is manual: the employer must see and copy an original passport or birth certificate in the worker’s presence, confirm that the document appears genuine, and keep a dated copy on file. For many overseas nationals, the process is digital.
The worker logs into the Home Office’s ‘Prove your right to work’ service, generates a share code, and gives this to the employer, who uses it to view the official record showing their status and photograph. That page must be saved and stored securely as evidence.
Many employers now use third-party Identity Service Providers to run digital checks for British or Irish passport holders. This can speed things up, but it doesn’t shift liability. The employer still needs to review the verification output, ensure the photo matches the person in front of them, and retain the report as proof.
If a document is expired, damaged, or doesn’t meet the criteria, a manual check must be carried out instead.
Where someone has a pending visa application or appeal, the only lawful route is the Employer Checking Service, through which the Home Office can issue a Positive Verification Notice valid for six months. Without that confirmation, employing the person is illegal.
Why mistakes persist
In construction and flooring, recruitment is often reactive. When a site needs labour quickly, right to work checks can feel like red tape. Paperwork is rushed, or documentation accepted without scrutiny. Managers may assume long-term residents must have the right to work, or that using an external checking service transfers the risk. It doesn’t. The legal duty always sits with the employer.
Delegation adds another layer of risk. Business owners often assume supervisors or site managers are carrying out checks correctly, but if training or oversight is weak, the company remains responsible. With multiple sites, shifting teams, and layers of subcontracting, consistency becomes even harder to maintain, and that’s precisely what enforcement teams
look for.
The cost of getting it wrong
The Home Office is ramping up enforcement, with civil penalties now reaching £60,000 per illegal worker. In serious cases, criminal sanctions, including imprisonment and unlimited fines, can follow. Beyond the financial hit, the reputational fallout can be devastating. A company named for employing someone illegally may find the damage lasts far longer than the fine, particularly where clients expect high standards of compliance.
Operational disruption is another risk. When the Home Office carries out enforcement visits, staff may be removed immediately, leaving projects short-staffed. For firms holding sponsor licences, revocation could cut off access to vital overseas labour entirely.
Digital ID
Government’s proposed Digital ID cards could streamline this landscape by allowing instant confirmation of an individual’s status. But the new system won’t remove liability. Employers will still need to check, record and store evidence of compliance, and for years there will be a mix of digital and manual systems running in parallel.
That transition period could be confusing. Some workers will have digital IDs, others won’t. Employers will need to train teams to handle both correctly, ensuring differences in process don’t translate into inconsistent or discriminatory treatment.
What businesses should be doing now
Waiting for digital ID isn’t a strategy. Enforcement is intensifying now, and penalties are at record levels. Flooring firms should focus on strengthening current systems, embedding right to work checks into every stage of recruitment, without shortcuts or assumptions, is the only way to stay compliant.
For many, professional guidance is a worthwhile investment. Immigration law is complex, and even experienced HR teams can struggle with issues such as visa extensions or pending applications. Getting it right the first time is far cheaper than defending an investigation later.
Ultimately, right to work compliance is about more than avoiding fines. It’s about running a business that values integrity and can withstand scrutiny and continue to grow with confidence.
Digital ID may change the mechanics of checking, but it won’t change the principle: in every hire, compliance still starts with the employer.
www.buckles-law.co.uk
Claire Scanlan is an experienced employment law solicitor at Buckles solicitors