It is a legal requirement for all UK employers to prevent illegal working. With a penalty of up to 5 years in jail and unlimited fines, the need for a strong management process and audit trail is paramount to recruitment and vetting teams. Right to Work checks are completed by carrying out specific checks of required documents to make sure the person you are employing is allowed to work in the UK. With remote working on the rise and a scarcity of candidates this provides additional challenges for employers across the UK. Digital Right to Work checks, delivered through VettingGateway, provide employers with an assured process and speeds up your time-to-hire. Digital Right to Work checks allow employers to remotely prove an applicant’s Right to Work status against applicable documents instead of having to review physical documents.
Here are five reasons why you should embrace Digital Right to Work Checks with VettingGateway in your pre-employment background screening process.
Speeding up your time-to-hire
A Digital Right to Work Check speeds up your background checking process by eliminating the need for a manual process and completing in-person face-to-face checks. Instead, employees’ Right to Work status can be verified digitally and results are sent back to VettingGateway within an hour of completing the check, meaning you new hires being able to start working sooner.
Avoiding penalties and remaining compliant
All UK employers, regardless of the size of the business and sector, must carry out Right to Work Checks to confirm that their employees have eligibility to work in the UK. Knowingly employing someone who doesn’t have this legal status can result in up to 5 years in jail and fines of up to £20,000 per illegal worker.
Protecting your company against recruitment fraud
With one study estimating a cost of nearly £24 billion per year for UK organisations, recruitment fraud is a big problem, both here and internationally. Employing a fraudulent candidate affects the businesses bottom line, as well as having negative impacts on the company culture, reputation and customer relationships.
Using a digital ID verification process is an easier and more secure way to prove a new starter is legally allowed to work and gives your vetting team confidence that a candidate’s documents are genuine.
Safeguarding employees’ personal information
Manual verification and onboarding methods are time consuming and create a lot of paperwork, which must be stored safely in line with data protection laws. Digital ID verification supports your vetting team with higher levels of security and reduces any chances of human error. An applicant’s Right to Work status is verified online and in real time which reduces the admin team from handling and storing any sensitive information.
Increasing your talent pool
Increased automation in the hiring process helps HR and talent teams reach more talent where the competition is high. It also provides a better candidate experience.
Digital Right to Work Checks help to streamline the background checking process and allow you to reach a broader pool of applicants as geographical barriers are removed.
VettingGateway and Right to Work Checks
VettingGateway’s Digital Right to Work Checks feature is here and supports your verification of UK and Non-UK citizens. You can find more about our checks here.