In our newsletter of 20 January 2022, we advised that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) extended adjusted Right to Work checks would end on 5 April 2022 and the new IDVT (Identification Document Validation Technology) scheme would commence on 6 April. – An interesting article by Denton via Lexoly, which you can view here Home Office announces important changes to right to work checks from 6 April 2022 – Lexology
As anticipated, on Wednesday 23rd February, the Home Office announced that the current temporary adjusted right to work checks is to be extended until 30 September 2022.
Source: Home office
“We have made the decision to defer the date following the positive feedback we have received following the government’s announcement enabling employers to use Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT) to carry out digital checks on British and Irish citizens who hold a valid passport from 6 April 2022,” the Home Office states.
The Digital Right to Work checks began on 30 March 2020 during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. It allowed checks to be carried out over video calls.
According to the Home Office, deferring the end date of the adjusted checks to 30 September 2022 ‘ensures employers have sufficient time to develop commercial relationships with identity service providers, make the necessary changes to their pre- employment checking processes and carry out responsible on-boarding of their chosen provider.’
Currently the adjusted right to work checks allow you to:
- Checks can be carried out over video calls
- Job applicants and existing workers can send scanned documents or a photo of documents for checks using email or a mobile app, rather than sending originals
- Use the Home Office Employer Checking Service if a prospective or existing employee cannot provide any of the accepted documents The team at Black Mountain will advise further as soon as updates are received regarding the new IDVT process.
