Follow-up right-to-work checks

Follow-up right-to-work checks should be planned where the person’s permission or prescribed check requires them. Record the relevant expiry or review point and use the correct route again, rather than assuming the original check covers every future period.

Build reminders early enough to resolve missing evidence or pending applications. An expiry date should trigger assessment, not an automatic employment decision without reviewing the facts.

Identify which employees actually need another check

Review the result of the initial prescribed check and the status it established. The Home Office generally requires follow-up where time-limited permission is due to expire, but its guidance expressly says repeat checks are not required for holders of settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme after a compliant initial check. ^[1] Do not apply a blanket repeat-check rule to every person with an immigration-related date in their file.

Create a register showing the evidence route, relevant date and reason a follow-up is or is not required. Keep the underlying result linked to the entry. Where the position is unclear, have it reviewed rather than assuming the passport expiry date is the immigration deadline. A passport can expire while permission continues, and a temporary verification result may require another check before a different date.

Set reminders with time for evidence and advice

Assign an HR owner and backup contact to each follow-up case. Schedule an advance reminder that allows the employee to provide current evidence and the employer to resolve problems before the relevant date. The reminder is an internal planning control, not an instruction to apply for a particular visa. Keep any case-specific immigration advice with an appropriately regulated or otherwise legally authorised adviser.

Tell the employee what information is needed and why, using a consistent and respectful process. Record when the request was made and any response. Avoid asking for unnecessary personal immigration history where a current prescribed check will answer the employer's question. If the employee reports an application or status issue, obtain the relevant facts and use the correct route rather than letting the case remain as an unanswered reminder.

Assess pending applications through current guidance

A person unable to produce evidence at expiry does not necessarily lack continuing permission. The employer guide addresses outstanding in-time applications and the use of the online service or Employer Checking Service in relevant circumstances. ^[1] The correct response depends on the application and evidence; a receipt alone should not be treated as universal permission for any work, nor should an expiry date trigger an automatic dismissal without assessment.

Record the application information the employee supplies and identify the appropriate verification route. Obtain specialist advice where necessary, including on employment implications before making a decision. Keep the official result and any advice about interim arrangements. Do not invent a grace period or assume that a pending application changes the employee's previous work restrictions to unrestricted permission.

Complete and retain the fresh check

Use the prescribed method applicable at the follow-up point, comparing identity and reviewing work conditions again. Save the new result and actual check date alongside the original evidence. The Home Office explains that a Positive Verification Notice provides a time-limited statutory excuse and states the relevant repeat-check position. ^[1] Record the date shown rather than copying a standard interval without checking the notice itself.

If the updated result changes an hours restriction or other condition, inform the people who need to organise the work and revise the operational record. Keep sensitive documents in the controlled personnel file. Keeping evidence of an online employment check explains how to preserve the evidence sequence, which is especially useful where several temporary checks occur while an application remains outstanding or the employee's status changes.

Resolve exceptions without losing the audit trail

Where the check fails technically, a profile is incorrect or the expected evidence is unavailable, record the problem and next action. Use official support or the Employer Checking Service where appropriate. Distinguish a technical inability to display status from a confirmed negative result, and escalate each according to the guidance. A recruitment or HR system should not convert every exception into the same automatic employment outcome.

For assistance reviewing the follow-up process, see Workforce immigration audit support. Explain the evidence route, relevant date and current uncertainty. Confirm whether any case-specific immigration advice will be given by a suitably regulated or otherwise legally authorised adviser and whether employment-law input is also needed. Administrative reminders and a legal assessment of continuing permission are different responsibilities that should be clearly allocated.

At each completed review, update the register with the result, evidence reference and next action or reason no further routine check is required. Retain prior entries rather than erasing them. Periodically check that employees who changed teams or HR systems remain covered by the same process, because a reminder can be lost even when the underlying evidence was correctly collected at the start.

Illustrative scenario

An employer’s register flags a worker’s permission before expiry. HR reviews the current evidence and any pending application with appropriate advice, then completes the required follow-up process.

Preparation checklist

• Identify follow-up cases
• Record key dates
• Request evidence in time
• Escalate pending or unclear cases