Checking the employee’s right to work

Produced by Tolley in association with Sarah Bradford
Employment Tax
Guidance

Checking the employee’s right to work

Produced by Tolley in association with Sarah Bradford
Employment Tax
Guidance
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Introduction

Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 employers have a duty to prevent illegal working in the UK. As part of the process of taking on a new employee, an employer should check that the individual in question is legally entitled to work in the UK. Employers are obliged to check a document that is regarded as acceptable for showing permission to work in the UK. The initial checks should be carried out before employing a person. Follow-up checks should also be carried out where a person’s right to work in the UK is time-limited. While there is no penalty for simply failing to carry out such a check, if an employer is found to be employing someone who does not have a legal right to work in the UK, the employer can face a civil penalty of up to £45,000 in respect of each illegal worker for a first breach, and £60,000 per illegal worker for repeated breaches. If the employer knows or has reasonable cause to believe that an individual does not have the right to

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Sarah Bradford
Sarah Bradford linkedinicon twittericon

Director at Writetax Ltd


Sarah Bradford BA(Hons), ACA, CTA (Fellow) is the director of Writetax Ltd, a company providing tax technical writing services on tax and National Insurance, and also of its sister company, Writetax Consultancy Services Ltd. Sarah writes widely on tax and National Insurance and is the author of several books.

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  • 30 Jun 2025 09:00

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