Theresa Villiers, the former Northern Ireland Secretary, has been in the media discussing the implications of the Government’s proposals for the revised border arrangements in Ireland following Brexit. Post-Brexit. Although the Home Office has suggested that EU passports and national ID cards should be accepted as proof of right to work in the UK until 30 June 2021, it is highly recommended that from 1 January 2020 you ask every new recruit, including EU nationals about their UK immigration status (or the date of their arrival in the UK). New Home Office guidance on post-Brexit right to work checks also confirms that UK employers will not be required to distinguish before 1 January 2021 between EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members who were resident in the UK before the UK leaves the EU, … Become your target audience’s go-to resource for today’s hottest topics. If they would like to stay in the UK for more … Answering questions from MPs in a debate on the rights of EU citizens yesterday, Caroline Nokes backtracked on comments she made to the Home […] There will be no change to the way EU, European Economic Area and Swiss nationals prove their right to work in the United Kingdom until January 1, 2021. Employer Rights to Work in the UK in a Post-Brexit World. One certainty is that the current onus on employers to undertake Right to Work checks on all new recruits will remain. They will also be able to prove their right to work as they do now - by using their passport, for instance. You can find out more about how to carry out Right to Work checks and which documents are acceptable on the government website. This applies even if the UK leaves the EU without a formal withdrawal agreement. If an EEA national is living in the UK before 31st December 2020, they can apply for a settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Irish citizens will continue to have the right to work in the UK and prove their right to work as they do now, … 31 January 2020. EU workers living in the UK by 31 Dec 2020 – can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021. The government has indicated that after the transition period, existing EU-based employment legislation will continue to apply in domestic law. The next generation search tool for finding the right lawyer for you. The UK’s membership of the EU and the rules on freedom of movement mean that people from the EU, EEA and Switzerland have had the right to work in the UK with minimal checks required. Keep a step ahead of your key competitors and benchmark against them. During the transition period up to the end of 2020, current EU rules on trade and employment rights will continue to apply in the UK. Hopefully, these will address the question of when you can ask your EU staff about their status. UNITED KINGDOM: Right to Work Checks on EU Nationals Following BREXIT. Right-to-work background checks for Non-EU citizens shouldn’t change as a result of Brexit as these workers have never been under the remit of EU Law. The good news is that employers still have time – there are no changes to the way Right to Work checks should be carried out until 30 th June 2021, even for employees who are citizens of EU or EEA countries, or Switzerland, provided that they arrived in the UK before 1 st January 2021. As an employer, you will still be expected to conduct thorough, compliant checks on new employees – EU citizens or otherwise. Employers will not need to check if employees have been issued their status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or another immigration document, to prove their right to work. EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens arriving in the U.K. after 1 January 2021 must apply for status under the new immigration system and new right to work check procedures. EU Passports will still be valid evidence of right-to-work post-Brexit until 2021. That said, there doesn't appear to be any specific penalties if you do ask these questions. UK employers should continue to conduct right to work checks on all prospective applicants to ensure they comply with the rules on illegal working and avoiding unlawful discrimination. At a Glance After Brexit, employers in the United Kingdom will need to continue to conduct right to work checks on all prospective employees. Their rights will be different depending on which status they get but in both cases they will be able to work in the UK. Employers will not need to make additional right-to-work checks on EU citizens in the event of a no deal Brexit, the immigration minister has confirmed, just days after stating the opposite. Is your Right to Work process robust enough to cope? ", © Copyright 2006 - 2020 Law Business Research. December 23, 2020. One of the key issues is EU workers, and how Brexit will affect their Right to Work status in the UK going forward. They will also be able to prove their right to work as they do now – by using their passport, for instance. The UK's new immigration rules after Brexit: five things employers should do. ... please check that your passport is valid and in date. At 11pm on 31 January 2020, the UK officially leaves the EU. The status they get depends on how long they have lived in the UK when they apply. Up until the 30th of June 2021 you can prove your right to work in the following ways:. Brexit Update : Immigration & The EU settlement Scheme, Employing EU nationals - Employer Toolkit launched, started living in the UK by 31 December 2020; and, lived in the UK for a continuous five year period (known as ‘continuous residence’). Employers must also retain clear records of workers' rights to work in the UK for the duration of the employment and for a period of two years afterwards. This will be the same for family members. Disruption will be minimised but there will be some changes. It’s important, too, to keep an eye out for potential changes to checks for new employees after January 2021. If you are employing someone new, you need to carry out your usual right to work checks. "I enjoy your publication and read it religiously. Contact UsCompany NewsOur Management TeamBlogOur OfficesPrivacy and LegalModern Slavery Policy StatementBrexit StatementCoronavirus Update, Daily Records, Risks and Incident Reporting, Digital Tools Package for Small Charities, Schools, Academies and Multi-Academy Trusts, Your December Update from the Recruitment Customer Success Team, Driving Diversity and Overcoming Bias in Recruitment, 6 Reasons Recruitment Agencies Struggle to Grow. A new points-based immigration system will apply to people arriving in the UK from 1 January 2021 and as part of this EU citizens moving to the UK to work will need to get a visa in advance. The 40-page AN EMPLOYER’S GUIDE TO RIGHT TO WORK CHECKS published by the Home Office on 29 June 2018, 2 years after the EU referendum and more than a year after the Article 50 trigger, has no references to Brexit. Employment rights after Brexit. Latest information from the government suggests that there will be a transitional grace period until 30 June … EU citizens will usually get settled status if they’ve: EU citizens that don't have five years’ continuous residence on the date they apply will usually get pre-settled status (which is, essentially, a five year visa). Right to Work Checks and Brexit Posted on September 24, 2019 by admin If you’ve applied for a job in the UK recently, then it’s likely that you were asked to bring a passport to interview. It's been nine months since the UK left the EU and our one year 'transition' period ends at 11pm on Thursday 31 December 2020. Right to Work checks after Brexit. Looking for a full screening including right to work software? The government has published new guidance which confirms that, once the UK leaves the EU and whether this is with a deal or not, there will be no change to the way EU, EEA and Swiss citizens prove their right to work until 1 January 2021. If you are recruiting anyone from outside the UK (including EU citizens) from 1 January 2021, you must comply with the new immigration rules. Right-to-work background check UK post-Brexit Non-EU Citizens. Home Office Clarifies Position As To EU Citizens’ Right To Work Checks After Brexit Posted by: Gherson Immigration It was reported this week that the government was expecting that employers would be required to run “rigorous checks” on prospective employees from the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The new guidance does not apply to Irish citizens. What is clear is that, despite the outcome of Brexit, all Irish citizens are to continue to have the right to work in the UK indefinitely and can prove this right as they currently do, such as through the use of their passport. Prior to 31st December 2020 there will be no changes to the way in which individuals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland prove their right to work in the UK. A full recording of the webinar can be found below. We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. Brexit is going to put UK businesses on the front line. Please contact [email protected]. Right to work checks are about employing workers legally. How can you prove your right to work in the UK? Questions? Prior to 31st December 2020 there will be no changes to the way in which individuals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland prove their right to work in the UK. Right to work checks for EU nationals after Brexit. Access Right to Work is an easy to use mobile app and cloud-based management portal. Irish citizens will continue to have the right to work in the UK after Brexit. Employers to have transition period before EU right-to-work checks This article is more than 2 years old Sajid Javid contradicts Caroline Nokes on no-deal Brexit immigration procedure Home Office 'risks repeat of Windrush scandal' as employers required to check EU citizens' right to work after Brexit. Within the next month or so, we expect the Home Office to provide further guidance to help employers. They will only be able to apply if they have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020. Click here for more information about how we use cookies on our site or read our privacy policy here. In summary, you must obtain, check and copy the relevant … The Government has stated firmly that EU citizens will not have any automatic right to work in the UK after the Brexit transition period. With all this in mind, it’s critical that recruiters and HR professionals review their recruitment process to ensure that they can maintain right to work compliance. There is nothing to stop you encouraging staff to apply to remain in the UK under the EU settlement scheme and remind them of the deadline for applications - and we recommend you do so. In less than five steps it confirms an applicant’s eligibility to work in the UK, as well as storing proof of compliance. As that date approaches, businesses are starting to think about their 'right to work' audits and what they need to do to make sure that staff from the EU have a legal right to continue to live and work in the UK from 2021. EU nationals arriving in the UK from this date will not benefit from the free movement rights and the ability to work … Home Office guidance (which was last updated on 6 April 2020) makes it clear that employers should not ask existing employees about whether they've applied for settled or pre-settled status because EU citizens that are already working in the UK (as at 31 December) have until 30 June 2021 to apply under the EU settlement scheme. Many of these documents do not allow the person to work. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, EEA and Swiss nationals will be able to enter and reside in the UK for a temporary period of 3 months. Introducing PRO ComplianceThe essential resource for in-house professionals. No-deal Brexit. Last week the Home Office published a new policy paper on post-Brexit EU migration and new guidance on right to work checks. Right to work checks The Home Office has said that employers will not be required to make the distinction between EU nationals who moved to the UK before or after Brexit until the proposed new points-based immigration system is introduced with effect from January 2021. Which status is awarded depends on how long the applicant has been living in the UK at the time of application. Irish citizens will continue to have the right to work in the UK after Brexit. Irish citizens will continue to have the right to work in the UK after Brexit. Free movement ends in less than two months - what should you be doing? They will also be able to prove their right to work as they do now - by using their passport, for instance. Post Brexit information for Irish citizens living and working in the UK. More than 3.7 million applications have been made so far. They will also be able to prove their right to work as they do now - by using their passport, for instance. They will be subject to a new immigration policy — see details on the White Paper below. Hopefully, you will be able to ask legitimate questions before 1 July 2021, because if you only find that they don't have settled or pre-settled status on or after that date, they are likely to be working illegally and you'll have to act very quickly to investigate, dismiss them (fairly) and avoid penalties. However, one thing which is certain is that after the UK leaves the EU, right to work checks will have to change. Irish citizens will continue to have the right to work in the UK after Brexit. A previous Library Insight considered the impact on right to work checks of the now scrapped plan. Right to work checks will remain the same after Brexit Until 1 January 2021, the Home Office has confirmed that right to work checks on EU and EEA nationals will continue as normal, under the processes laid out within the prevention of illegal working guidance published in January 2019, regardless of whether there is an exit with or without a deal On 31 December 2020, the UK is expected to leave the European Union. Power up your legal research with modern workflow tools, AI conceptual search and premium content sets that leverage Lexology's archive of 900,000+ articles contributed by the world's leading law firms. Brexit and right to work checks Position on right to work checks during the transition period Right to work checks for EEA citizens after the transition period Right to work checks during the six-month grace period (1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021) The right to travel, live, and work in the UK will not change. The Home Office has an employer toolkit to help explain the process. What are right to work checks anyway? Right to work checks should be conducted before the employment commences and, if conducted correctly and evidenced, will provide the employer with a statutory defence to illegal employment action against them. This will not distinguish between EU and non-EU nationals, and is designed to attract people who can contribute to the UK’s economy regardless of their place of origin. So, you still need to make thorough and consistent Right to Work checks on new employees and keep appropriate records of those checks. Understand your clients’ strategies and the most pressing issues they are facing. These set aside the previous policy that was announced by the Home Office in late August. Find out more here. As a reminder, EU, EEA or Swiss citizens and their family members who are living in the UK before 1 January 2021 need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021. Our last session, ‘Brexit - Right to Work Check Changes’, covered key right to work checks as well as new updates from the home office. Types of visas include visitor, student as well as: Employers and HR professionals should provide EEA nationals with regular, clearly communicated support where possible, recommending that such employees (and their family members) register with the EU Settlement Scheme by 30th June 2021 so that they can continue to live in the UK after that date. The angst continues. After all, it is your responsibility as an employer to prevent illegal working in the UK. The current guidance states: “You have a duty not to discriminate against EU, EEA or Swiss citizens. If you are employing someone new, you need to carry out your usual right to work checks. 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