Right to Work Archives - TALiNT International

83% of employers losing out on top talent

18/10/2022
All Regions, UK

Delays in candidate screening are threatening TA

According to research from Access Recruitment present delays to candidate screening are threatening talent acquisition in most UK businesses with more than eight in ten (83%) employers losing out on top talent due to the time taken to complete pre-employment screening checks.

In today’s tight candidate market, recruiters cannot afford to experience such delays. Governmental processing bottlenecks are affecting background screening for 61% of UK companies, directly prolonging organisations’ time to hire.

Businesses are increasingly introducing automated screening, especially for Right to Work (RTW) checks. In October 2022, the Home Office made digital RTW processing a permanent fixture, introducing certified Identification Document Verification Technology (IDVT) for continued worker identification checks without the need to meet in person.

Flaws within current manual screening processes affect employers and candidates alike. Employers suffer delays in accessing the talent they desperately need, and candidates are stalled in commencing their employment.

James Waby, Pre-Screening Consultant at Access Recruitment spoke exclusively to TALiNT International:“According to our new data, almost half (49%) of agency and inhouse respondents are already utilising candidate screening technology. This is promising, but there is work to be done to ensure that more companies understand how to embrace technology to automate their pre-employment screening processes for better efficiency and compliance. Moving forward, organisations have so many opportunities to move away from manual processes to help them onboard workers faster, particularly amid the challenging economic environment and talent shortages.”

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Candidate, Right to Work
Categories Employers, news

New digital right-to-work checks for British workers to begin in October

05/09/2022
All Regions, UK

Virtual right-to-work checks no longer possible

From 1 October 2022, employers must adopt new digital right-to-work checks for British and Irish nationals. The only alternative will be to go back to in-person manual checks.

According to global mobility and immigration advisers Vialto Partners, employers will no longer be able to use the virtual checks introduced by the Home Office under its ‘Covid-19 adjusted right to work checks’ concession.

The digital right-to-work checks are likely to speed up the required checks, ensuring that they are less cumbersome for employers and less disruptive for employees, especially for large, multi-site businesses.

All UK employers are expected to conduct right-to-work checks on all British and Irish nationals as well as EEA and Non-EEA nationals. If discovered, employers can see fines of up to £20,000 per illegal employee.

The Home Office has suggested that businesses conduct right-to-work checks for British and Irish nationals via an authorised Identification Service Provider with accredited Identification Documentation Verification Technology.

Lyudmyla Davies, Partner at Vialto Partners, said: “Right to work checks exist to reduce the risk of employers employing staff that do not have the right to work in the UK. Traditionally, they would be conducted in person with an employer or HR adviser checking a passport or identity card.”

“The Home Office had intended to move to online right-to-work checks in April this year but pushed back following delays in certifying technology providers. From 1 October, right-to-checks for British and Irish nationals must be done using Identification Validation Technology or they must revert back to the cumbersome process of manually checking and certifying original documents in person.”

“The Government would like employers to use a certified Identification Service Provider, saying it takes reassurance from the certification process and that employers should too. It will not, however, be essential.”

“Employers have a short window of time to adopt this new regime, and those that get it wrong can be fined £20,000 for each illegal worker and lose their ability to sponsor overseas workers.”

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Right to Work
Categories Employers, HR Tech, news

Home Office RTW processes flawed, according to APSCo

31/01/2022
All Regions, UK

APSCo calls for changes to cost timeframe issues for digital RTW checks

According to Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director at APSCo, while the introduction of the option to obtain a digital RTW confirmation from a certified service provider of Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT) is welcomed, there are some concerns in the plans outlined.

These include:

A lack of clarity around standardised rates or fee caps to prevent SME recruiters from being financially burdened

Limited timeframes to allow for an appropriate preferred supplier selection process

The potential for unnecessary duplication of checks

Tania Bowes commented: “The move to digital identity checks is something we’ve called for and welcomed when it was first announced. However, when we drill down into the details there are issues that have the potential to negatively impact staffing companies. While there will understandably be costs associated with digital checks, we are concerned that SME staffing firms will be exposed to high fees given that the decision around certified provider usages is often driven by the end-user’s outsourcing provider. This is an additional cost of supply, leading to higher costs for end-users or lower rates for workers, disincentivising the best talent to apply for positions. We have asked that the Home Office introduce low standard rates or caps on fees and other suitable limitations on the IDVT certified providers to prevent staffing firms being unnecessarily financially impacted. 

“Given that applications for certification only opened on 17th January we also anticipate time will be short to run an appropriate preferred supplier selection process to establish new relationships with IDVT certified providers ahead of the new rules coming into force. There may be a problematic period when firms can no longer use the COVID-19 checking processes, but won’t be ready to use a digital solution. This will increase time to hire at a time when skills are already in short supply and has the potential to exclude candidates who aren’t able to complete a face-to-face RTW check. We have written to the Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, calling on the Home Office to address these issues raised and to temporarily extend the Covid-19 RTW check, providing an overlap with the digitalised process, to allow time for businesses to set up their arrangements with certified providers.”

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APSCo, Covid-19, Home Office, Right to Work, RTW
Categories Employers

Extension of digital RTW checks ‘should be permanent’

31/08/2021
All Regions, UK

Relief for employers & recruiters already struggling with skills shortages

The Home Office has announced an extension of the temporary adjustments which allow right to work (RTW) checks to be completed with copies of documents via video conference due to pandemic restrictions.

The announcement to extend is a welcome relief for employers already struggling with skill shortages. In-person RTW checks were set to begin again in September with fines of up to £20,000 for those not complying. Companies have been gearing up for the change, however, the temporary RTW checks solution will now continue to 5 April 2022 and employers are still allowed to carry out the adjusted checks using a scanned copy or a photo of the worker’s original documents via email or mobile phone.

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has welcomed the delay to in-person right to work checks.

Tania Bowers, Legal Counsel and Head of Public Policy at APSCo commented: “While we look forward to seeing the results of its longer-term review, we hope that the success of the digital processes over the last 18 months leads to a more appropriate and modern method of managing Right to Work checks.

“Research from the Better Hiring Institute – which Chair of the APSCo Compliance+ Committee, Keith Rosser, is a director of – shows that at least 40,000 workers were successfully hired during the pandemic via temporary adjusted checks. This highlights that the digital Right to Work checks have been working. And with the UK facing a skills shortage at a time when the Office for National Statistics has reported a record number of job vacancies, ensuring employment regulation is fit for purpose in the modern world of work and doesn’t put UK employers on the back foot, is crucial.”

Keith Rosser, Director Group Risk and Director of Reed Screening at REED, has championed the move to extend the digital RTW checks. He said: “Digital right to work checks have been critical for helping the Levelling Up agenda, driving Build Back Better, and helping with the current UK staffing crisis.”

Permanent solution

Screening expert Sterling has called on the Home Office to use RTW extension to drive meaningful change. Steve Smith, Managing Director EMEA, Sterling, commented: “This digital move delivered a number of other positive results, streamlining checks for some and expanding the reach of recruitment activity as a worker’s location became less important – a critical element in a skills short market.”

The Home Office also confirmed that they’re reviewing the availability of specialist technology to support a system of digital RTW checks for the future to introduce a sustainable digital solution which will include many who are unable to use the existing online checking service. This would enable checks to continue to be conducted remotely but with enhanced security.

Jason Medcalf, Sales Director at People Group, which specialises in pre-employment background-screening, added:

“Most recruiters feel that a return to manual checking of RTW, now or in the future, would needlessly apply the handbrake to the excellent work recruiters are doing to fuel the economic recovery of UK Inc. The sector is simultaneously facing the widest and most pronounced candidate shortages in years, plus a fundamental change in where, when and how recruiters perform their work.

“Research and business cases have shown that using the available technology as a precursor to human review delivers benefits ranging from filtering out fake and stolen documents that would pass a human-only review to halving the total length of time taken to validate an applicant and place them sooner – creating additional margin for recruiters, delighting end hirers, and mitigating the skills shortage.

Photo courtesy of Canva.com

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APSCo, Right to Work, RTW, Skill shortages
Categories Employers

Home Office makes ‘sensible decision’ on Right to Work

21/06/2021
All Regions, UK

Following lobbying from recruitment sector bodies, the Home Office has announced a further delay to the resumption of physical Right to Work checks.

Since March last year, temporary measures have been in place that allow employers to check potential employees have the right to work using video calls and by accepting scanned documents rather than originals.

However, these measures were due to come to an end on June 21 and from that point employers would have been required to return to conducting in-person checks.

Both the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) had called for this to be pushed back following the announcement of a four-week delay to the easing of the UK lockdown.

The REC estimated that more than 300,000 people a week could be delayed from starting work if the Home Office did not allow digital Right to Work checks to continue during the extended lockdown period.

Last week the Home Office announced an extension of digital Right to Work checks until 1 September, in line with the delay in the lifting of the remaining restrictions.

“This will ensure employers have sufficient time to put measures in place to enable face to face document checks,” it said in a factsheet.

Permanent change next step?

In response to the announcement, Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said: “This is a sensible decision that will keep the jobs market moving. We’re pleased government has listened, and we look forward to working with the Home Office on the next logical step – a permanent digital system.”

Both the REC and APSCo have previously called on the government to put in place a permanent digital solution, arguing the success of the systems put in place during the pandemic proved such systems were workable on a long-term basis.

This has also been backed by specialist background screening and identity services firm Sterling.

Steve Smith, Managing Director for EMEA at Sterling, said: “Getting the Right to Work share code process in place over the course of the pandemic has been incredibly valuable for employers. In some instances it has streamlined RTW checks and has the potential to make some procedures more robust. In fact, we’ve witnessed organisations build digital and biometric identity checks into their screening programmes which decreased the potential for identity fraud, and any steps to drive compliance should certainly be welcomed and embraced more broadly.

“While there are circumstances that will necessitate in-person verification in the future, we would be disappointed to see the hard work that has gone into the digital solution over the last 18 months go to waste. It is our hope that the government and the Home Office use this extension period to consider how a hybrid approach to in-person and digital checks could work.”

Photo courtesy of Canva.com

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Employer, Home Office, Recruitment, Right to Work
Categories Employers

Tag: Right to Work

83% of employers losing out on top talent

New digital right-to-work checks for British workers to begin in October

Home Office RTW processes flawed, according to APSCo

Extension of digital RTW checks ‘should be permanent’

Home Office makes ‘sensible decision’ on Right to Work