Right to work checks: the three ways, and when each one applies

A right to work check only protects you from a civil penalty if it was the correct type of check, done before employment started, and recorded properly. All three parts matter.

Manual check

For British and Irish citizens who give you a passport. You see the original, check it against the person, and keep a clear copy with the date you checked written on it.

Online share code check

For anyone with an eVisa or biometric residence permit. They generate a share code, you enter it with their date of birth on the Home Office service, and you keep the response page — not the share code itself.

Identity service provider (IDSP)

For British and Irish citizens checked digitally. A certified provider verifies the document, and you keep their report. You still have to confirm the photograph matches the person.

Follow-up checks are needed where permission is time-limited. Diary them the day you do the first check — not when the expiry arrives.