News Old

As a UK employer, conducting proper right-to-work checks is a legal requirement to prevent illegal working and avoid hefty penalties. Failing to verify an employee’s eligibility correctly can result in fines of up to £20,000 per worker and even criminal prosecution. This step-by-step guide explains how to comply with UK right-to-work regulations efficiently.

Why Are Right-to-Work Checks Important?

Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, employers must:

• Verify that all employees (including British citizens) have the legal right to work in the UK
• Conduct checks before employment begins
• Keep proper records to establish a statutory excuse against liability

Step-by-Step Guide to Right-to-Work Checks

1. Determine Which Documents to Check

Employees can prove their right to work in two ways:

✅ List A Documents (Permanent right to work, e.g., British passport or settled status) – No follow-up checks required.
✅ List B Documents (Temporary right to work, e.g., visa or biometric residence permit) – Requires repeat checks before expiry.

2. Conduct the Check Correctly

• In-Person Checks: Physically inspect original documents with the employee present.
• Online Checks: Use the Home Office online service (for non-UK/Irish citizens with a share code).
• Remote Checks (Temporary): Until April 2025, employers can verify right-to-work via video call.

3. Verify Authenticity

• Check documents are original, unaltered, and valid.
• Match the photo and date of birth to the employee.
• For online checks, ensure the share code is current and matches the applicant.

4. Record & Retain Proof

• Keep copies of documents (or online verification results) securely.
• Note the date of inspection and store records for at least two years after employment ends.

5. Conduct Follow-Up Checks (If Required)

For List B employees, schedule repeat checks before their visa expires to maintain compliance.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Accepting expired documents – Always check validity dates.
❌ Failing to re-check temporary visas – Leads to illegal working risks.
❌ Not keeping proper records – Without proof, you lose statutory excuse protection.

How VerifyOnline.co.uk Can Help

At VerifyOnline, we simplify right-to-work checks with:

✔ Fast digital verification (Home Office-compliant)
✔ Automated reminders for follow-up checks
✔ Secure document storage to meet compliance requirements

Final Thoughts

Right-to-work checks are a critical part of UK employment law. By following these steps, employers can avoid penalties, protect their business, and ensure a legal workforce.

For quick, compliant right-to-work checks, visit VerifyOnline today.

Whether you’re looking to open a bank account, log into a secure platform, or buy something online (by providing your credit card information), you’ll need online identity verification for safety purposes.

First up, here’s a brief look into why it’s a must-have procedure for businesses and individuals:

To Prevent Fraud

By document scans and face recognition apps, business organisations and marketplaces can verify whether a customer is using a stolen identity or not.

In any e-commerce platform, or any platform where financial transactions take place, online identity verification helps to nip fraudulent activities like fund embezzlement with fake accounts in the bud.

To Comply With Regulations

In Europe, GDPR laws require businesses to handle data strictly for the protection of the citizens. Similarly, businesses and organizations need to adhere to KYC, AML, etc. regulations to ensure that they are providing financial services to real people.

If the parent organisations fail to comply with these state-approved regulations, they will need to pay a hefty penalty in most cases. Hence, implementation of online identity verification helps them to cover these regulations & handle customer data safely. 

To Gain the Trust Of Customers

The digital world is fast-paced and dynamic. So, while signing in to a new platform, customers expect a quick and hassle-free verification process so that they can complete their work as fast as possible.

Additionally, a secure online identity verification process helps to foster the reputation of the platform. Alternatively, if there are multiple reports of fraudulent activities with fake accounts and weak links in the security system, the reputation of the business platform takes a hit which eventually lowers the rate of customer engagement.

And here’s how the citizens of the state can reap the benefits of online identity verification:

Prevent Unauthorized Logins

By verifying your identity online and by enabling multi-factor authentication, you can prevent unauthorized access to your accounts.

This helps you in more ways than one. Firstly, it helps business platforms understand that you are, in fact, a real person looking to make a real purchase. And secondly, it prevents scammers from committing fraudulent activities using your identity. 

Protect Private Information

Online identity verification helps to protect your private information so that no one can access them without your knowledge. Signing into fishy websites where no verification is needed may seem tempting.

But the truth is that – in exchange, these fishy websites get to access your data behind your back and sell it off without your consent. And that’s why, online identity verification works both ways. In addition to individual verification, it promotes the reliability of business platforms as well. 

 

To prevent identity theft and leakage of private and sensitive information, it’s imperative to verify one’s identity before letting them access a private account. And that’s precisely why online identity verification is such a trending term in the current world.

As we move through the times and adapt ourselves to more and more digital devices, it’s important that we ensure the safety of all involved parties. With online identity verification, a person can access the services of a platform securely and alternatively, the authoritative platforms can protect the sensitive data of the users by detecting fraud and phishing scams.

What Is Online Identity Verification?

Online identity verification refers to the process of verifying an individual’s via digital methods.

Traditionally, the authorities check an individual’s social security card or driving license to make sure that they are indeed who they say they are. 

However, in the online world, it’s not possible to check one’s identity face-to-face as there is no way to check the submission of physical documents. Hence, for remote verification of identity, technology is used to cross-check the data provided by the users and verify their originality.

For instance – a customer can provide their driver’s license, passport, etc. via an app or a website to verify their identity while signing in to a platform. The website or the app, in turn, uses advanced tools like OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract the data from the documents, micro-analyze the texts, and verify the holographic (digital) footprints.

Again, businesses may implement facial recognition or biometric methods for online identity verification. Then customers may need to take a selfie so that the database can match it with the provided ID photo.

Final Thoughts 

Considering how digital the world is getting in recent times, it’s high time to prioritize online identity verification to ensure proper transparency. Routine ID verification helps all parties involved by promoting accountability in every sphere.

For instance – businesses can detect fraud accounts and transactions with online identity verification and in turn, gain trust factors with clients with their strengthened security measures. And as for the citizens of the modern world, online identity verification is a token of personal security.

According to an online platform which advises landlords operating in the private rented sector, half of all fraudulent tenancy applications involve faked or forged payslips.  The landlord advice site has issued a warning to landlords to remain vigilant, but this situation also has implications for people who are considering moving into a new rented home, and who are expecting to go through the identity check and screening to be accepted by a landlord or letting agency.

Managing Tenancy Fraud

The landlord advice site looked at over 300,000 tenancy applications last year and found that fraudulent applications only accounted for 0.3% of all applications for a tenancy, so the problem is not so widespread as tenants or landlords may have feared. However, although only one in 1,000 applications was fraudulent, 54% of these cases included pay slip fraud.

Spotting Forged Payslips

If you are applying for a rented property, the first check you will come up against is the Right to Rent check, where the landlord or letting agent has to check that you are in the UK legally. This level of checking is legally required, and landlords found to be letting to people without the legal right to be in the UK face heavy fines. If you pass this check, the landlord or agent may then want to run other checks such as credit referencing checks or asking for references from previous landlords. Checks are increasingly done using AI-driven ID verification tools and credit referencing software to try to catch any potential fraud. Even if a fake payslip might appear genuine on initial inspection, red flags may be raised if the applicant’s credit check shows high levels of debt, or they appear to have no income other than benefits.

Landlords will also be checking the payslips carefully for both obvious and harder to spot errors. Mistakes like spelling errors, badly altered dates or numbers can usually be picked up easily. It can be harder to notice that a tax code doesn’t seem to be correct for the level of income being declared, or that the deductions from the gross pay don’t match the nett pay. Do not be surprised – or offended – if your landlord or letting agent wants to ask an expert to look at your payslips as a further level of checking.

Technology in Tenancy Checking

Fraudsters are getting increasingly with their methods and landlords and agents have to be one step ahead at all times. It’s no longer enough for them just to rely on their gut instinct or experience when looking at documents which tenants provide. Many agencies are therefore using a third party expert company for tenant approval, and these organisations can run credit checks, look at references and verify other personal information which a tenant has provided. Having your details referred to someone else for checking doesn’t mean your landlord thinks you have something to hide, it’s standard practice. The landlord should be open about what they are checking, and get your permission to send your details on.

 

If you work in the financial services industry, you’re probably well aware of the rules and policies around Know Your Customer, or KYC. KYC checks are all about identity verification, and before starting work on a wide range of legal or financial matters, banks, credit card companies and similar firms must work out who they are dealing with. KYC checks are the only way to establish the client’s identity, comply with government regulations around money laundering and mitigate fraud risks. Lawyers, bankers, accountants, and estate agents are have a legal duty to complete these checks before providing their services.

From a customer’s point of view it can sometimes seem like just another layer of red tape and forms to fill in, but unfortunately you have no option but to comply. Less detailed checks apply when you wish to open an account at a bank you already have other dealings with, and if you approach an institution which you have not used before, you might have to provide more information.

Manual Know Your Customer Checks

Traditionally, identity verification was paper-based. Clients would meet face-to-face with their solicitor or accountant, and this sometimes still happens in cases where clients prefer to deal with such matters in person, or don’t have smartphones or internet connection. However, arranging face to face meetings can be tricky with diary conflicts, missed appointments or documentation errors. Manual identity checks can also be difficult, as checking documents such as a passport involves matching the client’s face to the passport photo, validating birth dates, checking expiration dates, scrutinising the Machine Readable Zone data, inspecting holograms, and examining stitching for tampering. If you’re not an expert in spotting a forgery, it can be hard to know you are being presented with a fake or not.

Transition to Digital KYC Checks

The pandemic changed the way we all did business and a rapid move to online identity verification. Businesses and clients soon discovered that digital checks had many advantages including:

• Time efficiency – it’s quicker for everyone to allow customers to complete the checks online rather than in person.
• Fraud Prevention – digital methods are better at picking up fraud attempts than humans
• Audit trail – online verification generates its own records, rather than someone having to input the details by hand.
• Convenience – customers can complete their checks from home, using their phones and whenever is easiest for them,

Benefits for the Customers

From the customer’s perspective, they want the process of selling a property or opening a new bank account to be as simple and straightforward as possible. If things go smoothly, this reassures them that they are dealing with a reputable firm which knows what it is doing. If on the other hand they run into issues with crashing websites or forms which are difficult to get through, this could negatively affect their ideas about your company. If you do run into issues with getting through KYC checks, ask your bank or lawyer’s customer service team for help.

 

If you voted in the recent UK General Election held on 4^th July, you will already be well aware of the new rules about identity checks on anyone wishing to cast a vote. All voters had to present valid photo ID at the polling station to get a ballot paper. Voters without the correct identity documents were turned away. If you didn’t vote, or did vote and are still unsure of the rules about identity checking for voting, here is our guide to electoral identity checking.

Rules on Voter Identity Documents

Since May 2023, presenting a valid form of photo ID has been compulsory for in-person voting at most elections. These rules don’t just apply to UK general elections, but also to:

• All local elections in England, including mayoral and London Assembly elections
• All local referendums and parliamentary by-elections in England
• Police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales

Although people in Scotland and Wales need their ID to vote in a UK general election, no ID is needed for Scottish or Welsh local elections or parliament elections. The situation is different again in Northern Ireland, where voters have needed valid photo ID since 2003.

The government introduced photo ID rules to prevent voter fraud. This is relatively rare in the UK. Between 2019 and 2023, there were 1,462 reported cases of alleged fraud in a British election. 11 cases involved someone pretending to be someone else at polling stations. Only one case resulted in a conviction, and one in a caution.

Accepted Forms of Photo ID

There is a long list of what items can be used to verify your identity when voting, including:

• Passport
• Driving licences
• Older or Disabled Person’s bus passes
• Oyster 60+ cards

Although for other purposes ID documents have to be currently valid, for elections out-of-date photo IDs are accepted as long as the voter still resembles the photo.

What If You Don’t Have the Right ID?

One of the main criticisms of the new system is that it excludes people who don’t have a passport, driving licence, or other appropriate ID. Registered voters without the correct ID can apply for a free voter authority certificate. However, this has to be done in advance of any election as the cards take some time to be produced and dispatched.

If you arrive at a polling station to cast your vote without valid ID, you will be asked to return with the correct documentation. The staff at the polling station should be able to help with what sort of documents you might need. Although figures have yet to be released, polling station staff recorded the number of voters turned away and also those who then returned with valid ID. In the May 2023 local elections in England, about 14,000 people were unable to vote due to the new rules.

The ID system is under review, and the Electoral Commission has recommended widening the list of accepted documents. It remains to be seen whether the new government acts on their advice.

Popular food delivery companies Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats have announced new identity checks. The aim is to prevent the exploitation of account sharing people who would not pass a Right to Work check. Changes are designed to protect the British public and ensure that all riders have the legal right to work in the UK. Right to Work checks are a key part of identity verification when taking on a new job, and aim to make sure that only people in the UK legally, and with the correct immigration status to work here can work, whether on an employed or self-employed status.

What Is Substitution?

All of the big delivery companies have a facility which allows their workers to share access to their accounts when they are unable or not free to work for whatever reason. The problem is that legitimate account holders who have gone through the recruitment checks are sharing their accounts with people who may not have the right to work legally in the UK. Pressure from the government has led to these new rules, aimed at closing the legal loophole.

There is also concern that legitimate account holders may be tempted to exploit illegal workers who are desperate to earn some money in the UK, and take a cut of their earnings. This exploitation leaves customers uncertain if the person delivering their food is legally permitted to work in the UK. It also prevents delivery firms from knowing whether their substitute drivers are compliant with both road safety and immigration legislation.

Implications for Delivery Workers

If you are already working for one of these delivery companies either full or part time, and know that you have the right to work in the UK legally, then you have nothing to worry about. If however you are thinking of earning a bit of extra cash through a delivery app, you might find that the checks are more substantial than you were expecting.

Deliveroo has stated that it is already checking the Right to Work of anyone who wishes to work as a substitute through their portal, and that it supports the efforts of the Home Office to stamp out the problem of exploitation of illegal workers. Just Eat and Uber Eats have taken similar steps to limit access to their platform. This means that you should expect to go through more robust identity checking, involving showing your passport, driving licence or other key identity documents which prove who you are, and your nationality.

Government Efforts to Tackle Illegal Working

Over 2023 and the first half of 2024, the government’s intensified efforts to combat illegal working led to a 68% increase in enforcement. It remains to be seen whether this will change after the 2024 General Election, but it seems unlikely in the short term at least. Fines for employing illegal workers have risen dramatically in recent years too, which is why so many employers are paying much more attention to the problem of illegal working than they did previously.

.

Identity theft is becoming increasingly common in Britain. Research shows that with fraud accounts for 40% of all crimes committed in England and Wales, and 64% of these cases are related to identity fraud. The police also highlight that 80% of fraud is now cyber-enabled, with criminals often scouring the internet for your personal information before committing fraud using a stolen identity to bypass the identity checking process needed to get a loan or take out a new mobile phone contract. There are some critical mistakes which many of us make which could make us a victim of identity theft – are you guilty of any of them?

Sharing Identifiable Images Online

Be very careful about sharing images that reveal personal details online as these may be used in identity theft. Posting photos of boarding passes, concert tickets, or even your workplace on social media can disclose information like your name, date of birth, or address. This can provide criminals with enough details to commit identity theft. Use your social media site’s privacy settings to make sure only your real friends are seeing your snaps.

Overloading on Online Sign-ups

Every time you sign up for an online service requiring your personal details, you increase the risk of those details being leaked in a data breach or hacking attempt. Experts advise avoiding unnecessary registrations, especially on sites that demand full name, date of birth, address, and phone number. Use a guest checkout or similar so that you don’t have to give your details, especially if the site is not one you use frequently.

Using Obvious Passwords

Many people still use simple and predictable passwords like the names of their favourite football teams or pets. Security experts have found that Liverpool and Chelsea were among the most commonly used passwords in leaked databases. Be more inventive in your choice of passwords, and incorporate numbers and symbols where possible. Set up two-step verification (2SV) for added security on any sites which offer that extra layer of security, even though it might mean it takes longer to log in.

Avoid Participating in Identity Theft Quizzes

Online quizzes may seem harmless but can provide enough information for criminals to create a fake identity. Quizzes like “What’s your Hobbit name?” or those asking for old photos are designed to gather personal details, which can then be used for more sophisticated identity theft techniques. Some quizzes may be entirely harmless, but just take a second to think before parting with your middle name, date of birth and other information on a site you don’t really trust.

Using Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

Unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots can pose significant security risks. Using public access internet hotspots without a VPN can potentially allow scammers to intercept any passwords you enter on your device, or gain access to your device information. Many public Wi-Fi networks lack proper security measures, so think about what you are doing when hooked up to an unsecured public connection.

 

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that 6.7 million people across Great Britain are now receiving monthly financial support through Universal Credit. This means-tested benefit is designed to assist those out of work or who are in work on a low income with the cost of daily living.  As unemployment levels rise to almost 4% and more people claim Universal Credit, the DWP has updated its guidance on the identity verification process required for new claimants. Although these new changes were announced before the July 2025 general election, there are no plans in the pipeline to change the application process for Universal Credit under the new Labour government. To claim Universal Credit, individuals must first verify their identity. The DWP has published a comprehensive list of ID documents that new claimants need to bring to the Jobcentre if they are invited for a face-to-face interview.

How to Verify Your Identity

The DWP states that verifying a claimant’s identity is the only way in which they can link the right person to the right claim. This also helps to reduce identity fraud in the system. There are various options which people can take to verify their identity for official purposes. Even if you have already verified your identity to apply for a passport, driving licence or for other benefits, you might have to repeat the process for a Universal Credit application.

Verifying your identity online is usually a straightforward way to confirm that you are who you say you are. You can do this by providing information that only you would know, such as details about your passport, your driving licence number or recent payslips. If you are applying for Universal Credit, the DWP will accept any two of the following list of key identity documents:

• Payslips from your employer dated within the last three months
• Your most recent P60 (annual statement of tax paid to HMRC)
• A valid UK passport
• Self-assessment returns submitted to HMRC if you are self-employed
• Tax credit information or correspondence
• Utility bills or mobile phone contract bills.

People who are able to verify their identity successfully using the online portal progress to the next stage of the process. If you don’t have the correct combination of documents to prove your identity online, then you might be asked to prove your identity in another way.

Other Ways to Verify Your Identity

If you have not got a passport, or driving licence, or the other documents which the DWP want to see for online identity verification, then there are other ways of doing this. These include:

• Face to face appointments with an advisor
• Phone interviews

During an interview, the advisor will go through your history and look at whatever documents you can provide to help establish your identity. When you make the appointment, you will be told what sorts of documents they are looking for. Although the process may appear frustrating, it is not designed to block your application, even though it might feel like that at the time.

 

Anyone in the UK has the right to set up a company. Many people who are self-employed operate as sole traders, but others will choose to set up a limited company or partnership through Companies House. Proposed amendments to the Companies Act 2006 aim to introduce stricter identity verification measures for any people who are involved with setting up, managing, or controlling companies to prevent money laundering by criminals, and to make sure that the people who are listed as directors of companies are who they say they are. There has been a growing problem of criminals registering companies using stolen identities and fake addresses, either to launder money or to apply for loans or credit which they are not entitled to.

ID Verification Process

The new rules will direct anyone who wants to be listed as a company director to one of their approved identity verification companies. Proving your identity will involve sharing details from key identity documents, such as the number and date of issue of a passport, or your driving licence number. Once the verification process has gone through, each individual will receive a unique identifier number which they can then use to complete the company registration process.

Before this new legislation was introduced, there were no identity verification requirements for people wishing to set up companies and list themselves as directors. The government felt that this was a loophole in the law which could lead to potential abuse through false registrations or fake identities. The new laws aim to improve the reliability of information available from Companies House, and to make it difficult to use fake identity details when setting up a new company.

Who Can Be a Company Director?

Limited companies must have at least one director, and many have more than one. The directors are the people who are legally listed as running the company and have to make sure that they follow the laws around running a business and submitting accounts. Anyone over the age of 16 can be listed as a company director, and don’t have to live in the UK. All companies operating in the UK require a British address, but this can be a service or correspondence address rather than a home address.

Directors can be listed on more than one company if they wish. If someone has been legally banned from running a company then they are not allowed to apply to become a director again until their period of disqualification has passed. People who are undischarged bankrupts are usually not allowed to be a director of a company until the disqualification has expired. Names of directors are public information and can be accessed through the Companies House website by anyone who wants to look.

Resigning as a director is easy too. If for whatever reason you want to step down as a company director, you put this in writing to the board or shareholders, and they will then inform Companies House which will remove your name from the register.