Right to work – All you need to know

As of the 31st of January 2020, the UK officially left the European Union, meaning there are now new rules and legislation in place regarding EU nationals and their right to work status in the UK.

What does this mean currently for EU nationals?

As the UK has now left the EU, there is no longer any freedom of movement between the UK and the 28 EU countries. This means that any EU nationals who arrived in the UK before the 31st of December 2020, from the 1st January, till the 30th June 2021 will need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue working in the UK because, after 30th June 2021, their right to work status will no longer be valid. If their application is successful, the
EU national will wither receive a settled or a pre-settled status.

If any EU nationals fail to apply for settled status, they risk becoming an unlawful resident of the UK.

What does this mean for businesses who currently employ EU nationals?

Currently, until the 1st July 2021, companies should continue to carry out right to work checks before employment, just the same as it was prior to Brexit, and can continue to use passports and national identity cards evidence of an individual’s right to work in the UK.

However, once the deadline for applying to settled status has passed, right to work checks will need to be re-done for all your EU national employees once they have given you their settlement code as this will be proof of their settled or pre-settled status.

So, what are the changes for businesses who want to employ EU nationals?

As of the 1st of January, EU nationals who wish to live and work in the UK will need to apply for a visa in advance as the new UK immigration points system applies. Meaning that if you want to hire anyone outside the UK, they now must meet the immigration system requirements and apply for permission first. Once their visas’ have been approved, the right-to-work checks will need to be completed. However, that their right to work is not always guaranteed.

Once the right to work check has been completed, it’s not permanent and re-checks will need to be done every so often, but the length of time the new right to work checks stay valid has not currently been confirmed at this time.

So, how can CBS help?

With the deadline fast approaching, we here at CBS want to offer our services to complete your right-to-work checks. It’s important to not let the new rules regarding right-to-work checks impact your business.

If you want to find out more about how we can help you with this service, contact us today on 01443 799900 or email us at info@cbscreening.co.uk.