Right to work checks
Share codes, document checks and the £45,000 penalty. What every employer must do before day one.
Rules and fees checked against gov.uk on 8 November 2026. Page updated 8 November 2026. How we check our guides.
- Who must check
- Every UK employer, for every employee, before they start work
- Penalty
- Up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach, £60,000 for repeats (since February 2024)
- Methods
- Online share code, manual document check, or an IDVT identity service provider
- Repeat checks
- Before a time-limited permission expires
Right to work checks are the one immigration duty that applies to every employer, whether or not it holds a sponsor licence. A correct check done before the first day of work gives you a statutory excuse against the civil penalty if the person turns out to be working illegally. Done late, or done wrongly, it gives you nothing.
The three ways to check
- Online check with a share code. The standard method for anyone with an eVisa, biometric permit or settled status. The worker generates a share code (starting W for work) in their UKVI account and you enter it with their date of birth on the gov.uk employer checking service. The result page shows their photo, status and any restriction, such as student hours. Save the PDF with the date; it is your excuse. Since April 2022 this is the only acceptable method for BRP holders.
- Manual document check. For British and Irish citizens, who have no online record. You see the original passport or passport card (or a birth certificate with an official document showing the National Insurance number), check it in the person's presence, copy it, and date and sign the copy. Photocopies and photos sent by email are not acceptable on their own.
- Identity Document Validation Technology. Since October 2022 you can use a certified identity service provider to check British and Irish passports remotely. You pay the provider per check and must still satisfy yourself the photo matches the person.
The right-to-work check is a nationality-neutral duty: you must check everyone, not just people you think might need a visa, or you risk a discrimination claim.
When to check again
A check on someone with indefinite leave, settled status or British citizenship lasts for the whole employment. A check on someone with time-limited permission must be repeated before it expires. If the worker has made an in-time application to extend and is waiting, the Employer Checking Service issues a Positive Verification Notice that covers six months at a time.
Students
A student's share-code result shows the hours they can work. You must also obtain and keep their term dates from the institution, because the limit applies in term time only. Letting a student work over the limit is illegal employment on your part, and from 2024 the Home Office has actively pursued it.
The penalty
A civil penalty of up to £45,000 for each illegal worker on a first breach and up to £60,000 for each on a repeat, with reductions for cooperation and reporting. Knowingly employing an illegal worker is a criminal offence with up to five years' imprisonment. For a sponsor, a penalty normally also means the licence is revoked, cancelling every sponsored worker's visa. The Home Office publishes the names of penalised employers.
Contractors, agency staff and the gig economy
The duty applies to employees. It does not apply to genuine self-employed contractors, though a sponsor must still check its sponsored workers. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, before Parliament when this page was reviewed, proposed extending the duty to businesses using workers under contracts for services and to online platforms, which would bring couriers and other gig workers in scope. Agencies must check their own workers; the end client does not.